As the technology continues to flourish, new devices are being developed every day replacing the old ones.
With the increasing proliferation of these devices and even in reduced costs, their disposal has become a significant issue.
Environmental and Security Concerns…
Majority of the devices are composed of plastics and metals that are non-degradable and thus can harm the environment with their toxic constituents. Environment damaging compositions of these gadgets often include chemicals and other elements such as mercury, acids, lead, arsenic, lithium etc.
Besides, there is also a major security concern when it comes to disposing these devices. This is because most of them contain sensitive personal information that should be removed prior to the disposal. Disposal does not mean actually damaging the device completely but also to recycle it as on the whole or certain parts.
Here is what to do prior to recycling or disposing of the electronic gadgets…
• If the device is your personal phone or any other gadget in which you had your personal information saved, it is advised to remove all the sensitive information before recycling. You can format the hard drives, disks and memory cards etc to prevent the data from any potential unauthorized access.
• In case, you are not being able to format the storage media, it is ideal to destroy it. In case of computers, you can certainly retain the hard drives and use it with another computer.
• Find out what kind of products do the EPA (Environment Protection Agency) or any other recycling centers accept. While few of the centers accept everything, yet some of the facilities do not accept electronics.
• If your device is in a working condition, best is to check with the local charity stores whether they take Electronic Devices as donations or not. You may also wish to consider checking with an electronics vendor or a store about their policies at the time of replacing your device.
There are plenty of other alternatives as well if you intend to contribute to the environment and experience a sense of contentment.
