The Need for Electronics Recycling

With the growing use of computers and their relatively short life span, computers and other consumer electronics are becoming a serious waste problem worldwide. Here are some statistics associated with electronics waste:

• Two (2) million tons of electronics are landfilled each year.
• Forty (40) million computer monitors and TVs will become obsolete in the U.S. this year.
• Two hundred fifty (250) million computers will become obsolete in the next five years.
• By 2006, it is estimated that 163,420 computers and televisions (3,513 tons) will become obsolete every DAY.
• One hundred thirty (130) million cell phones will be obsolete by 2005.
• Currently, more than 50% of U.S. households own a computer, and many upgrade every 3 to 5 years.
• In the U.S., 128 million people use cell phones, upgrading their phones, on average, every 18 months.
  

This massive quantity, with its toxic materials and sheer bulk, is creating a problem that can no longer be buried. According to USEPA, if all the stored electronics are recycled or disposed, a wave of electronics waste will swamp existing programs, starting in 2007 and peaking in about 2010.

There are environmental and public health risks associated with used electronics. Used electronics contain a wide range of materials, some of which are toxic, and most of which are recyclable. The risks associated with the more than 30 distinct materials that make up a personal computer are numerous. Lead, cadmium, barium, chromium, and mercury are among the most harmful. The plastics in a computer also contain harmful substances such as polybrominated flame-retardants and hundreds of additives and stabilizers.

Once discarded in a landfill, computers can be crushed, releasing metals and other toxics into the environment via air and potentially via water if the landfill’s leachate collection system and runoff controls are not maintained properly. Approximately 70% of the heavy metals found in landfills come from electronic equipment discards. If disposal involves incineration, many toxic substances can be released into the atmosphere.

In short, the landfill is not the correct resting place for used electronics. Many states and municipalities have initiated electronics recycling programs, and some have even banned electronics from their landfills. Growing concern worldwide has prompted new laws and other actions to extend the life of computers, to manufacture them with less toxic parts, to improve the upgradeability of computers, to pay end-of-life charges at the time of purchase, and finally to recycle them at the end of their useful life.

The Toxicity of Electronics

The average desktop computer weighs about 60 pounds and is composed primarily of glass (25%), plastics (23%), iron (20%), aluminum (14%), copper (7%), lead (6%), and zinc (2%). These materials account for 97% by weight of the computer. The remaining 3% is made up of dozens of metals and compounds in very small quantities, including some that are commonly known, such as tin, barium, nickel, titanium, cobalt, gold, silver, and platinum; and some that are not so commonly know such, as ruthenium, palladium, niobium, and rhodium. Some are known to most of us as dangerous or poisonous, such as cadmium, chromium, mercury, and arsenic. The plastics that make up about a quarter of the machine also contain polybrominated flame retardants and hundreds of additives and stabilizers. (Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap, Austin, TX, 1996.)

Risks
The risks associated with the more than 30 distinct materials that make up a personal computer are numerous. Lead, cadmium, barium, chromium, and mercury are among the most harmful. The plastics in a computer also contain harmful substances. Once discarded in a landfill, computers can be crushed, releasing metals and other toxics into the environment via air and potentially via water if the landfill’s leachate collection system and runoff controls are not maintained properly. Approximately 70% of the heavy metals found in landfills come from electronic equipment discards. If disposal involves incineration, many toxic substances can be released into the atmosphere.

Toxic components in computers include:

- computer circuit boards containing heavy metals like lead and cadmium,
- computer batteries containing cadmium,
- cathode ray tubes with lead oxide and barium,
- brominated flame-retardants used on printed circuit boards, cables, and plastic casing,
- PVC- coated copper cables and plastic computer casings that release highly toxic dioxins and furans when burnt to recover valuable metals,
- mercury switches,
- mercury in flat screens, and
- PCB’s present in older capacitors & transformers.

Lead
The most widespread danger associated with disposing of computers and other electronics may be from lead. Consumer electronics constitute 40 percent of the lead found in landfills. Each computer or television that is discarded contains 4 to 8 pounds of lead. Monitor glass contains about 20% lead by weight. Between 1997 and 2004, more than 315 million computers became obsolete in the U.S. If these are discarded, approximately 1.2 billion pounds of lead will be landfilled.

Lead is found in a computer’s CRT (cathode ray tube), which is the monitor screen. It is there to protect the user from the radiation and is harmless when encased in the monitor unit. Once a monitor is broken or damaged, lead can escape into the environment. Lead also is used in soldering of the numerous printed circuit boards located inside the computer. Lead will be released as fine particles as electronics begin to degrade in a landfill. The primary concern in regard to the presence of lead in landfills is the potential for the lead to leach and contaminate ground and surface water that may be used for drinking water, which will happen to some extent in all landfills.

Lead can cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood system and kidneys in humans. Effects on the endocrine system have been observed and lead can have serious effects on children’s brain development. Lead accumulates in the environment and has high acute and chronic toxic effects on plants, animals, and microorganisms.

Approximately 100,000 children from birth to 6 years of age are screened for lead poisoning and approximately 10 percent or 10,000 are found to have elevated blood lead levels. Lead poisoning is a major cause of nervous system deterioration and mental retardation in children.

Harmful health effects of lead include: decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, and brain damage. It is stored primarily in the bones, but is particularly toxic to the reproductive system, the nervous system, the blood, and the kidneys.

Cadmium
Cadmium is used in batteries, metal coatings, and plastics – it can be found in older models of CRTs, infrared detectors, semiconductors, and SMD chip resistors. Cadmium can enter the air when electronics waste is burned, and can travel long distances before falling to the ground or water. It enters water and soil from waste disposal and spills or leaks at hazardous waste sites. People can be exposed to cadmium by breathing contaminated air, or eating foods containing it (fish, plants, and animals take up cadmium from the environment).

Breathing high levels of cadmium severely damages the lungs and can even cause death. Long-term exposure will affect the kidneys and possibly lead to kidney disease. It can also cause lung damage and fragile bones.

Barium
Barium is used in the front panel of a CRT to protect users from radiation. Barium can be released through the air, water, and soil, and is also accumulated in fish. Studies have shown that short-term exposure to barium (through ingestion) has resulted in brain swelling, muscle weakness, and damage to the heart, liver, and spleen.

Mercury
Mercury is used in LCD screens, batteries, and switches. When inorganic mercury is introduced into natural water systems, it is transformed into methylated mercury in bottom sediments. Methylated mercury easily accumulates in living organisms and concentrates through the food chain, particularly in fish. Methylated mercury causes chronic damage to the brain. The European Union estimated that 22% of yearly world consumption of mercury is used in electrical and electronic equipment. Humans are exposed to mercury by eating contaminated fish or shellfish, breathing vapors when mercury is burned, or through skin contact.

The nervous system is extremely sensitive to all forms of mercury. Exposure to high levels of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus.

Plastics
Plastics comprise about 13 to 14 pounds of each personal computer, which may result in more than 4 billion pounds of plastic waste from computers within the next few years. The largest volume of plastics used in electronics manufacturing is PVC at 26%. PVC is known to create more environmental and health hazards than most other types of plastics. PVC is uses primarily in cabling and computer housings. Today, most manufacturers have switched to ABS computer moldings, but the computer waste being generated still contains large quantities of PVC. PVC is difficult to recycle and contaminates other plastic types in the recycling process. Burning PVC produces dioxins and furans, which are harmful to human health and the environment.

Also present in many electronics is brominated flame retardants used to reduce flammability. Besides being used in computers, brominated flame retardants also are used in TVs and kitchen appliances. Various studies indicate that the class of polybrominated diphenylethers that include brominated flame retardants may act as endocrine disrupters. Accumulation in human breast milk has increased dramatically.

Information in this section is from:

Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap, Austin, TX, 1996.

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Californians Against Waste, Materials for the Future Foundation, Campaign for Responsible Technology, and The Next Generation, Poison PCs and Toxic TVs, June 2001.

The quantity of hazardous waste generated and how it is managed determines how an organiztaion is regulated. Regulated hazardous wastes come in many forms that may not at first be intuitive. For example, many common items, such as computers, monitors, televisions, printers, fluorescent tubes, and even remote controls (nearly anything with a circuit board), contain enough lead to usually fail the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test for hazardous waste.

Organizations that generate more than 220 pounds of regulated hazardous waste are classified as either a small quantity generator (SQG) or a large quantity generator (LQG), and must handle and dispose of their hazardous wastes in an approved manner. In Alaska, landfilling is not an approved disposal method for SQG and LQGs. Recycling of electronics will not count toward an organization’s hazardous waste quantities, nor will donating the usable equipment as an intact product (as opposed to as a waste). Therefore, there is a large financial incentive for SQGs and LQGs to recycle electronics, as dealing with them as a hazardous waste can be very expensive.

Even conditionally exempt small quantity generators (CESQGs), which are organizations that generate less than 220 pounds of regulated hazardous waste per month, should track and record any materials that may be regulated hazardous waste to prove that they are within the guidelines for CESQGs. Considering the weight of the average monitor and computer, it does not take much to go over the 220-pound limit. The average computer with monitor weighs 50 pounds and televisions can be even heavier. It would only take about five full computers per month to exceed the CESQG limit, not including any other hazardous waste the business generates.

Based on this calculation and the assumption that many larger businesses replace their computers on a three-year cycle, any business with 180 computers or more probably exceeds the 220-pound monthly limit based on their electronics waste alone. Factor in other hazardous wastes and businesses with far fewer computers will exceed. Again, donating usable equipment or recycling the electronics are the two solutions to this potentially costly problem. To avoid the costs associated with becoming a SQG, be sure to recycle or donate used equipment.

The Anchorage Regional Landfill is turning away people attempting to dump electronics unless the electronics came from a conditionally exempt organization or household. Despite these exemptions, it is always preferable to recycle electronics instead of landfilling them.