How to Improve Your Bottom-line by Recycling E-Scrap

The popular saying, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” might be most befitting to old technology.  Broken computers, printers, phones and countless other computerized devices at their end of life can seem like junk, but truly they are not.  Instead of simply discarding these unwanted items, schools, businesses and organizations alike should be putting them out for recycling.

If you’ve not heard the term E-Scrap, or perhaps E-Waste, it is simply old technology-based materials that are typically no longer functional but it could just be the device is no longer useful to the owner, so it has been termed garbage.  But unlike traditional waste, these materials are worth money and can be recycled instead of paying to be disposed of in a landfill with the other garbage.

Discarded cell phones are a mounting problem.

Companies, schools and organizations can reduce their disposal costs and increase revenue by switching how electronic waste is processed. The electronic waste has value to recycling centers and can be sold instead creating a new revenue stream. In this way, the more e-waste an organization produces, the higher the economic benefit can be and a more dramatic impact it can have on their bottom-line.

So what exactly is E-Scrap?

E-Scrap Can Include:

·         Televisions (TVs), Monitors, and Electronic Screens of all kinds

·         Solar Panels

·         Computers

·         Phones, Cell Phones, Radios, CB Radios, Satellite Phones

·         GPS Systems

·         VCRs, DVD players, Blue Ray devices, Play Stations, Nintendos, and all other electronic gaming systems

·         Consumer electronics of all kinds including Toys and Tools

·         Small appliances

·         Refrigerators, Freezers, Dishwashers

·         Air Conditioners

·         Camera Equipment

·         Medical Devices

Environmental Benefits:

Beyond getting paid for e-scrapping unwanted electronic devices, there are also environmental benefits to be realized by recycling these materials.  Many electronic devices include lead, mercury or other harmful chemicals that can pollute the groundwater if they are processed by a traditional junkyard and placed in a landfill. 

Another benefit to recycling electronics is that some of the precious metals can be recycled and reused to make new products, meaning less mining for virgin materials is needed.  Reduced demand for new precious metals equates to less mining of these materials out of the earth and that reduces pollution in both the air and water.

So beyond saving money, electronic materials that are recycled help keep the environment cleaner and safer for all of us.

Health Benefits of Electronic Recycling

There is a high cost of not recycling electronic materials.  There is a growing amount of e-waste being produced as our lives become more and more centered around technology.  In fact, E-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. The main problem with electronic waste as we’ve discussed here a bit already is that the materials inside the components contain toxic materials that are deadly to humans.  E-waste is not biodegradable and the health effects of the pollutants can include: cancers, birth defects, brain damage, and more.

Recycling of Electronic Waste is Our Responsibility

The global community must embrace the idea that electronics are to be recycled and not simply discarded.  With the growing volume of electronic materials being used in society, the impetus is on all of us then to be good stewards of the land and resources we use.  The list of items we use that has electronic components is surely going to continue to rise meaning there are more hazardous materials needing of proper disposal, or better said, recycled.

We at OERC are proud to offer E-Scrap recycling services here in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  For questions about what we process and how to get your organization set up with an account please reach out to our team and we’ll be happy to help you.