We live in a time when we are surrounded by electronics of all kinds. Electronics make life easier through storing, processing, and collecting data that would be nearly impossible to do all in our own heads. They can help us with navigating, communicating, developing products, diagnosing errors, and much more. As technologies improve over and over there is always an increase in the amount of electronics that get replaced, which means millions of electronics are thrown away or get shoved into storage to never see the light of day.
Several questions arise when electronics are replaced by newer technologies. One of these concerns is: How can we recycle, reduce, and reuse these outdated electronics?
Recycle Electronics- When a device is produced there are several materials that are needed to create even a simple electronic. There are several precious materials including gold, silver, platinum, palladium and others that can and should be melted down to be reused in new electronics. Besides metals, there are plastics in electronics that can be reused instead of creating more from our limited supply.
Reduce- Do you really need the latest bells and whistles? New electronics normally have slight modifications, such as a larger screen, quicker processor, or better camera. Although these modifications can be quite enticing when compared to your current devices, you should still consider sticking with them until it is necessary to upgrade to new one when it really matters.
Reuse- Many times electronics that we think are junk or of no use to us can still be used by others. A computer or laptop that a business man no longer uses could be useful for a high school or college student that is without one. Just because you no longer need an electronic device doesn’t mean that someone else will not need it either. There are many places where electronics can be reused. You may even consider selling your electronic if it still has some value.
Through reusing, reducing, and recycling we can protect our local landfills from harmful and hazardous materials. We can also recover and reuse precious metals for new products and reduce the amounts of extracting new materials from the earth’s limited supply.
