What is E-Waste?

If you haven't heard the term "E-waste" before know that you'll be hearing a lot about it in the future. It is a word that has come sharply into focus in our current electronic world. It is a term which has come to represent any and all types of electronic equipment that is near to ending, or is ending, its useful life span.

These out-dated electronics are quickly becoming any one of a number of computers, telephones, televisions, VCR's, stereos, i-pods, fax machines, or some such other similar electronic product that now needs to be disposed of. In essence it has become garbage, refuse, waste, trash or whatever other term that you would prefer to refer to it as. Scientifically it is now officially referred to as "electronic waste" or as it is more commonly known "e-waste".

We are an era that over the past number of years has been, and is still, enticed by an ever evolving supply of electronic gizmo's and gadgets. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and the newest technology today is quickly outmoded as newer and even more advanced improvements to current electronics advance to the forward front. These new and improved products hit the shelves, and our old outdated or worn out electronics become "e-waste", and as such, need to be disposed of.

The sheer number of these products that are being tossed into the local landfills is creating an environmental nightmare and has governments and environmentalists alike searching for new methods of recycling this ever growing pile of electronic waste. To add to the nightmare is the fact that a large number of these electronics contain hazardous waste materials and there are just not a lot of recycling programs currently in place to deal with this new form of garbage.

The E-Waste problem came to the forefront so quickly that not a lot of recycling programs at first considered it to be a potential problem. For this reason not many programs were in place to deal with this new form of waste material.

So without recycling centers in place to dispose of their electronic waste safely, people simply threw it away with their other trash, E-Waste began filling up the local landfills to an alarming degree.

Suddenly it became glaringly clear that recycling programs were desperately needed! They had to be created immediately to help put a stop to this new environmental nightmare. Public Education programs needed to be put in place. The sheer magnitude of E-waste being so rapidly created was creating a new environmental nightmare, and people needed to be made aware of the necessity of properly, and responsibly disposing of this new form of waste.

The E-Waste era had now become a reality.

So what solutions have they come up with? Currently it would appear that the three basic rules of recycling are as important here as they are in all areas of waste management. Reduce - Reuse - Recycle.

Reduce the amount of waste that you produce by purchasing products with less packaging or that are re-usable or long lasting. Pack your groceries in cloth bags rather than the plastic disposable variety.

Reuse items. Use glass jars to store food in, as drinking glasses, or paint them to use as decorative containers for buttons, paperclips or other small household items. Cardboard boxes can be broken down for easy storage till they are needed again. Old shirts can be cut into rags and the buttons and zippers stored for later use. If you do not have a use for items, donate them to local charities, or to someone else that you feel might have a use for them.



Recycle whenever possible! Compost your vegetable and yard waste material. Recycle your tin cans, glass, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, plastics, ink cartridges, batteries and all other items that programs are in place to accept.

For your E-waste there is a listing of U.S. organizations or businesses that recycle or reuse electronics. The "Electronic Product Management Directory" link can be found below:

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Electronics/Collection/

Reduce the amount of waste that you create. If your electronics article is still in good working order, you can consider passing it along to someone else who could use it, or donating it to a local charity or thrift store. If it is no longer in working order than recycle it or store it until such a time as your community offers an "e-waste" recycling center.

Welcome to the electronic age, where even garbage comes with a new and more distinguished title, welcome to the "e-waste" era.

It doesn't matter if you live in an appartment or a house, whether you lead a busy life or just sit around and play couch potato all day. Anyone can participate.

Turning vegetable waste into nutrient rich soil through the process of composting is such a simple task that virtually anyone can participate.

Spring, summer, winter or fall, composting does not take a lot of time, energy or space. All you need is some vegetable matter that you want to turn into compost, dirt, water and sunshine. Nature takes care of the rest.

So take a few minutes to make the world a nicer place for those who will visit it in the future....Read Full Article.

This is the model of dishwasher that most households invest in. These miniature dishwashers can make quick work of dishwashing needs while not consuming vast amounts of electricity in the process.

They do however have some defects, so be sure to keep plenty of these dishwashers on hand as they do tend to refuse to operate correctly quite often, and most will need to be replaced in the future with more dependable models ......Read Full Article.

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Electronics/WhatisEwaste/

http://www.epa.gov/msw/reduce.htm