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The U.S. is the only developed nation that does not ban exports of toxic discarded electronics.

Source: The Rising Cost of Recycling, Not Exporting, Electronic Waste | US News

It feels as if electronics were made to be thrown out every year, right? From mobile phones that just happen to die right when your contract is over, to televisions that become obsolete as soon as a larger, thinner version debuts. While the cost of constantly trying to keep up to date with the latest electronics is definitely steep on a household budget, there is a pretty hefty environmental cost, too, that comes along with e-waste. Most surprisingly of all, though, is the billions of dollars (literally) that goes into landfills each year by carelessly disposing of electronics. Countries are literally throwing away money every day.

Source: 20 Staggering E-Waste Facts – Earth911.com

Stephen Foley is looking to get his hands on some gold… the problem is that it takes too much time, costs too much money and harms the environment.The work of his research team—made up of Loghman Moradi, research associate, and Hiwa Salimi, PhD student— changes all of that.”We’ve found a simple, cheap and environmentally benign solution that extracts gold in seconds, and can be recycled and reused,” said Foley, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. “This could change the gold industry.”

Source: Sustainable technique recovers gold from e-waste cheaply

Difficult market conditions are currently being faced by the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling sector, delegates to this year’s International Electronics Recycling Congress IERC 2016 have heard.

WEEE ewaste Recycling Markets & PolicyImage ©You may also be interested in thisALBA IWS Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for WEEE Recycling PlantVIDEO: First E-Waste Recycling Facility n Hong Kong Under ConstructionsRAL CO2OL-PRINT Tool for Fridge Recycling FirmsIN DEPTH: RAL Tool for Calculating Fridge Recycling Carbon Reductions Explainedaverda Dubai Signs E-Waste Contract with Municipality‘Smart’ Bins Deployed to Collect E-Waste in DubaiDifficult market conditions are currently being faced by the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling sector, delegates to this year’s International Electronics Recycling Congress IERC 2016 have heard.

Source: E-Waste Recyclers Being Squeezed by […]

Reducing e-waste not only conserves resources and keeps toxins out of the environment, it also saves money in waste management costs — and can help firms avoid costly compliance fees as a result of illegally storing or disposing of e-waste.

Machine Design offers five strategies to reduce e-waste. These include upgrading hardware or software instead of purchasing new devices, and selling or donating old electronics that still work.

Source: Reducing E-Waste Through Purchasing Decisions · Environmental Leader · Environmental Management News

‘Product development shouldn’t be hard,’ asserts Nascent Objects’ founder and ceo Baback Elmieh after pairing cutting-edge 3D printing and modular electronics with user-friendly software to ensure devices can be constantly reused.

Source: Modular approach the answer to e-waste? | E-scrap and Batteries – United States – Recycling News | Recycling International – recycling magazine for professionals by professionals |

Cable television giant Comcast Corp. has agreed to pay the state of California $25.95 million to resolve allegations that the company unlawfully disposed of electronics, including remote controls, modems, splitters and routers.

Source: California reaches $26-million settlement with Comcast over electronic waste – LA Times

At a vast dumpsite in the west of Ghana’s capital Accra, small fires burn among piles of old computers, television screens and laptops, throwing plumes of thick black smoke into the air. Around them workers pick out motherboards, valuable metals and copper wires, burning away the plastic casings as they go – filling the air with toxic fumes.

This is one of the biggest dumps for electronic waste in the world, and among the most polluted places on earth. Every year hundreds of thousands of tonnes of e-waste find their way here from Europe and North America, where they are stripped of their valuable metals in the crudest form of recycling.

Source: Where many of our electronic goods go to die – BBC […]

Comcast may be the latest company to illegally dump its e-waste — resulting in a $25.95 million settlement with the state of California — but its not alone in its “careless and unlawful” e-waste disposal practices, which put people and the environment at risk.Less than one-sixth of last year’s e-waste is thought to have been diverted to proper recycling and reuse, according to the United Nations University, the UN’s think tank, which says global e-waste topped 41.8 million metric tons of electrical and electronic products in 2014.

Source: E-Waste Management: Is Your Program in Compliance? · Environmental Leader · Environmental Management News

According to the report, “Global E-Waste Monitor 2014,” the e-waste problem is growing fast, thanks to increasing demand for, and shortening useful lives of, electrical and electronic products. At the same time, relatively little is recycled or reused, so huge amounts of valuable materials end up landfilled or in developing countries, where lax standards create huge environmental and health hazards. By illustrating how much e-waste is produced worldwide, where it’s generated and its fate, the report seeks to showcase the tremendous opportunities for recyclers, reusers and take-back programs to turn trash to treasure.

Source: 46 million tons of trash — or treasure? | Ensia

While the negative impact of e-waste is vast and growing, most people are probably unaware of its reach. The lack of proper recycling leads to harmful toxins like lead and mercury leaching into the environment. Harmful materials like these and many others found in e-waste, cause all sorts of health issues like neurological damage, kidney damage and some cancers, to name a few. And let’s not forget about the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons left behind.

Source: The Dark Side of the Digital Age: E-Waste | Mary Kay

GENEVA— May 4, 2015. Over the next two weeks, 1,500 representatives from 180 countries will seek ways to reduce risks from hazardous chemicals and waste through the sustainable management of these potentially life-threatening substances.

Source: Conference to Address Threats of E-waste, Toxic Chemicals

The Vietnam Recycling Platform (VRP), a consortium initially founded by HP and Apple announced a new initiative for the recycling of e-waste. The program – named Vietnam Recycles – is a free take- back program for used or defective electronic products with an aim to ensure their safe and environmentally sound recycling. […]

460 W. Larch, #25, 1 block south of 205 at the S. Tracy Blvd. exit. Turn right into 460 larch, turn left between the second and third buildings. on the left at the end.

TDR Electronic Recycling, Fremont, CA has expanded its collection, pick-up, and recycling services to Tracy with a new drop off location to be at 2227 N. MacArthur Drive in Tracy.  TDR  is a Northern California ewaste recycling and collection company that recycles all ewaste, TVs, and monitors in accordance with government regulated standards.  TDR also offers solutions to local businesses that wish to recycle or remove electronic equipment, and services include complete clean out solutions fro offices to warehouses. 

TDR […]

PRESS RELEASE

June 11, 2012, 5:00 a.m. EDT

Advances in Regulation and Industry Certification Are Driving Increases in Recycling and Reuse of Scrap Electronics, According to Pike Research […]

State proposal to allow CRT glass into landfills imperils $2M Stockton plant

(The following is an article by the Stockton [Calif.] Record)

California has long outlawed landfill disposal of glass from old television sets and computer monitors, because it’s heavily laden with lead and other toxic metals.

But in an unusual role reversal, state toxins regulators propose relaxing those rules, and some companies in the business of recycling glass from cathode-ray tubes, or CRTs, are objecting. –>read more 

Many electronic products are designed for the dump. They have short-life spans, or become obsolete quickly. They are often expensive to repair, and sometimes it’s difficult to find parts. Many consumer-grade electronics products are cheaper to replace than to fix even if you can find someone to fix it.  […]

Dec 19, 2011. USA Today: Seventeen states have banned electronic waste from landfills, requiring it to be recycled so its toxic materials don’t leach into groundwater. Seven of these bans took effect this year, and two more will take effect soon: Illinois in January 2012 and Pennsylvania in January 2013.

(Washington, DC – June 23, 2011)  U.S. Representatives Gene Green (D-TX) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) yesterday introduced new legislation – the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act of 2011, HR 2284– to stop sham U.S. “recyclers” from dumping electronic waste on developing countries and to promote recycling jobs at home. The bill is supported by environmental groups as well as electronic manufacturers (Dell, HP, Samsung, Apple, and Best Buy), all of which already have policies that prohibit the export of e-waste to developing nations.  The bill also has bipartisan support, including sponsors Reps. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) and Lee Terry (R-NE). […]