Why Should We Recycle Our Faulty Electronic Devices?

Introduction

Advancements in technology come in leaps and bounds, meaning it doesn't take long for new gadgets to become obsolete shortly after they reach their target market. 

Manufacturers are making their devices more powerful and promoting new features every year. Consumers also have more excess cash to spare and do not mind changing their devices every year. As a result, many old electronics will be replaced or get thrown away. 

According to a January 2019 report from the World Economic Forum, e-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream globally, with an estimated waste stream of 48.5 million tonnes in 2018.

Globally, countries are only dealing with 20% of e-waste and, for the most part, ends up in landfills or disposed of by informal workers in poor conditions.

1. Singapore is the 2nd largest generator of e-waste in the region

According to recent stats, each Singaporean discarded around 11kg of e-waste annually.

To give you a perspective, this is equal to 73 mobile phones being disposed of every year. Singapore produces about 60,000 tonnes of e-waste each year.

Only 6% of these tonnes is recycled. The rest of it is incinerated. 

2. Helps protect the environment

When more people are educated on protecting our environment, recycling is needed to raise awareness among consumers. After all, when you recycle e-waste, you’ll be keeping a lot of harmful materials out of the environment. 
 

Just think of lamps and fluorescent tubes. When you throw them into the landfill, they will release toxic mercury that can leach into waterways. On the other hand, if you go through proper recycling, the mercury is recovered and safely used again.

3. Conserves resources

One of the reasons why you should recycle faulty electronic devices is for resource conservation. 

Electronics contain a lot of components that still be re-used through proper extraction. It will save both resources and energy required to mine the raw material from the already depleting earth reserves.

The good news is that some big companies are already doing this. Apple, for example, already has a recycling facility where it extracts functional electronics for future re-use.

4. Saves energy

While saving energy may not be the number one reason you recycle your faulty electronic devices, the reality is that the primary productions of metals from mining ores consume a lot of energy and land.

Just think about all the digging and drilling holes underground, and leaving these places as wasteland harms the environment. Besides, land with gaping holes and pits is not a pleasant sight. 

When you recycle electronics, you will help curb continuous mining, help global environmentalists save energy, and avoid land wastage.

Energy is a resource we cannot afford to misuse, and saving it is a way of thanking mother nature for the precious gift and is one of the benefits of recycling electronic waste.

5. Reduce landfill 

The last reason why you should recycle is to reduce landfills. 

It’s essential to keep in mind that landfills are environmentally hazardous and impact all living things, humans, plants, and animals alike. When you don’t recycle properly, this electronic waste ends up in the hands of informal waste operators who dump this in landfills.

As time passed, the metallic, plastic, and toxic materials in this e-waste start leaching through the landfills’ ground and find their way into nearby water sources.

The more e-waste there is that is not recycled correctly, the greater the need to have landfills for disposal. 

Conclusion

While many people still look at recycling as something that others can do, we all have a moral duty of recycling, especially in what concerns faulty electronic devices.

Ultimately, it’s not difficult to recycle your old gadgets, and it won’t cost you a penny. And you’ll be contributing to a better and healthier environment.