E-Waste Fast Facts

Discarded computers and other consumer electronics (so called E-waste) is a growing global issue and has serious implications for both our environment and the security of confidential and proprietary electronic data. Below we have assembled some pertinent information and facts we think will help our customers and prospects become quickly educated on electronic waste.

E-Waste - A growing issue.

  • E-waste is among the fastest growing portion of our waste stream due to increasing sales and rapid obsolescence of electronic technology. E-waste already constitutes 2% to 5% of the US municipal solid waste stream.
  • Computers and other consumer electronics are full of toxic materials extremely dangerous to humans and harmful to the environment if not properly managed. For example, each computer or television display contains an average of 4 to 8 pounds of lead.
  • Approximately 57 million televisions and computers are sold annually to households and businesses in the US. What's more, studies estimate that 315 to 600 million desktop and laptop computers in the US will soon be obsolete. One report estimates that a pile of these obsolete computers would reach a mile high and cover six acres.
  • Many used electronics from residential dwellings, local businesses and sham recyclers are improperly disposed and end up in landfills. When electronics and their components are improperly disposed of and crushed in landfills, the lead and other toxins are released into the environment, posing a hazardous legacy for current and future generations.
  • It's against the law for most US businesses to place electronics into the trash. Certain small quantity generators are exempt, but the regulatory environment for electronics disposal continues to emerge as environmental and privacy protection concerns grow. Some states have laws prohibiting electronics from the municipal waste stream and require local governments to offer electronics recycling for residents.
  • The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that up to 80% of obsolete electronics collected by recyclers, resellers or waste brokers are exported to developing countries. Here toxic components are openly burned, soaked in acid baths, dumped into rivers, smashed apart or piled into mountains of e-waste for scrap or metals recovery by impoverished workers and children without proper protection.
  • E-waste from the US is often sent to the federal prison system where inmates work without federally protected health, safety, or labor rights. The inmates smash computer monitors with hammers, releasing dust that contains lead, cadmium, barium and other toxic substances.

A helpful resource for more information about e-waste export issues can be found on the following websites:

Computer Take Back Campaign
Basel Action Network

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The Toxins - Let us reiterate.

Here's a quick recap of some of the most common substances found in electronics and their harmful effects.

  • Lead - The health effects of lead are well known; lead exposure causes brain damage in children, it's toxic to the kidneys and damages nervous and reproductive systems.
  • Mercury - Mercury is toxic in very low doses, and causes brain and kidney damage. It can be passed on through breast milk; just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat.
  • Cadmium - Cadmium accumulates in the human body and poisons the kidneys.
  • BFRs - Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) may seriously affect hormonal functions critical for normal development. A recent study of dust on computers in workplaces and homes found BFRs in every sample taken. One group of BFRs, PBDEs, has been found in alarming rates in the breast milk of women in Sweden and the U.S.

* Data provided by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

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Electronics Recycling - The good, the bad and the ugly.

  • The proper disposal and recycling of electronics and their hazardous components conserves resources, saves energy, protects worker safety, reduces environmental and public health threats including greenhouse gas and other emissions and stimulates the development of green technologies. Proper disposal also helps to substantially reduce the high cost of permanently storing and disposing of hazardous wastes in permitted hazardous waste facilities.
  • According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, only 10% of unwanted and obsolete computers are recycled responsibly.
  • Many electronics recyclers, resellers and waste brokers do not operate under strict environmental controls and remove the valuable metals from electronic equipment, while sending the remaining scrap to landfills and incinerators or worse, export it developing countries.
  • The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates 50-80% of electronics waste collected for recycling in the US is being exported overseas and then disassembled and recycled under largely unregulated, unhealthy conditions in China, India, Pakistan and other developing countries.
  • A number of electronics recyclers will say they have certificates (which are simple to obtain and print out) that declare them an EPA-certified recycler. The fact is, there's no such thing as an EPA-certified recycler--many so-called electronics recyclers are exporting e-waste overseas because it's the cheapest avenue for them.
  • Electronics recyclers and other intermediaries that export electronics and their components overseas for recycling most likely are not destroying the confidential electronic data that remains retrievable on equipment storage devices like hard drives.
  • Partnering with a responsible and trustworthy electronics end-of-life management vendor is vital to helping a company to avoid hefty regulatory fines, lawsuits and negative press that can arise for improper electronics disposal. More importantly, hiring a responsible vendor is vital to protecting our environment.

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Data Security - Do you know where your old hard drive is?

  • Electronic data remains on storage devices such as hard drives and removable media if not properly destroyed prior to reuse or disposal. The volume of computer equipment being disposed poses a significant threat to the protection of confidential and proprietary information residing on these storage devices.
  • Garfinkel and Shelat (data forensics experts) at MIT collected 168 used hard drives from eBay and other places and found that over 40 percent had recoverable data and over 30 percent had sensitive information like credit card numbers.
  • PC World magazine did an informal survey, buying or salvaging hard drives in the Boston area. It found that 90 percent of the discarded hard drives had recoverable data.
  • The amount a company may spend to properly destroy electronic data on obsolete computer and electronic equipment is trivial compared to the amount a company could pay in a lawsuit or lose in business if confidential customer information is compromised or corporate secrets leak out.
  • HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act) are two examples of laws that require specific industries to implement and document Electronic Data Destruction Procedures or otherwise subject themselves to hefty regulatory fines or lawsuits.
  • Certain electronics recyclers, computer resellers and other brokers do not destroy the electronic data that remains on computer equipment prior to reuse or disposal. Electronics recyclers that export electronics overseas for recycling most likely are not destroying the electronic data on the equipment.

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Regulatory Q&A - Know these terms.

  • What is hazardous waste? Hazardous wastes have properties that make them dangerous, or capable of having a harmful effect on human health and the environment. They are defined by the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) laws and are regulated by the federal government.
  • What is universal waste? Universal waste is a subset of hazardous waste. Universal waste is defined as materials containing hazardous wastes that are generated by a wide variety of people. Examples include batteries, pesticides, thermostats (containing mercury) and lamps. Universal waste rules allow these common, widely generated hazardous wastes to be managed under less stringent requirements than other hazardous wastes, particularly around storage and transportation. The goal is to get these items out of the municipal waste stream and to increase recycling and proper disposal.
  • Where does e-waste fit in? Electronics and computer equipment contain hazardous materials and therefore are classified as hazardous waste by the federal government and must be managed according to those regulations once discarded. If a state has adopted the universal waste rule, companies must find out what materials their state has classified as universal waste. If electronics are listed, they can be managed according to the less stringent universal waste rule.

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