But Recycling Is A Good Thing, Right?

Discarded Electronics Fuel To Global Trade That Endangers Workers And Pollutes

(AP)  Most Americans think they're helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they're contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas.

While there are no precise figures, activists estimate that 50 to 80 percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons of electronics collected for recycling in the U.S. each year ends up overseas. Workers in countries such as China, India and Nigeria then use hammers, gas burners and their bare hands to extract metals, glass and other recyclables, exposing themselves and the environment to a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

"It is being recycled, but it's being recycled in the most horrific way you can imagine," said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network, the Seattle-based environmental group that tipped off Hong Kong authorities. "We're preserving our own environment, but contaminating the rest of the world."

The gear most likely to be shipped abroad is collected at free recycling drives, often held each April around Earth Day, recycling industry officials say. The sponsors - chiefly companies, schools, cities and counties - often hire the cheapest firms and do not ask enough questions about what becomes of the discarded equipment, the officials say.

Many so-called recyclers simply sell the working units and components, then give or sell the remaining scrap to export brokers.

"There are a lot of people getting away with exporting e-waste," said John Bekiaris, chief executive of San Francisco-based HMR USA Inc., which collects and disposes of unwanted IT equipment from Bay Area businesses. "Anyone who's disposing of their computer equipment really needs to do a thorough inspection of the vendors they use."

The problem could get worse. Most of the 2 million tons of old electronics discarded annually by Americans goes to U.S. landfills, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. But a growing number of states are banning such waste from landfills, which could drive more waste into the recycling stream and fuel exports, activists say.

Many brokers claim they are simply exporting used equipment for reuse in poor countries. That's what happened in September, when customs officials in Hong Kong were tipped off by environmentalists and intercepted two freight containers. They cracked the containers open and found hundreds of old computer monitors and televisions discarded by Americans thousands of miles away.

China bans the import of electronic waste, so the containers were sent back to the U.S.

[octavianfdlr]

"But Recycling Is A Good Thing, Right?"

Actually, recycling is required by the EPA, in the name of environmental protection.

[grammawhamma]

I think a worse problem is what to do with all the millions of old tires. Did you ever see a mountain of old tires start on fire and billow out clouds of black smoke for days on end? Those fires are almost impossible to put out.

[bthrasher102]

You realize that recycling glass (as well as the initial production) requires much more energy. Also, should we throw away every airplane in existence and replace them with what?

[erasmus6]

"They must be doing some kind of recyling with aluminum cans because the last time I took mine to a recycling center I was paid 65 cents a pound for them." posted by GrammaWhamma

Yes, you can recycle them but I was just thinking that glass is better. Plastic and aluminum are not healthy. Plastic puts off a gas. Also I heard that in bottled water the toxins from the plastic go into the water. In the summer I was partially freezing my water bottle so that it had some ice in it and I read that when it starts to freeze the plastic lets go of some toxic chemical.

Also when you microwave things in plastic, the plastic molecules enter the food. And aluminum also enters the food, especially if it is heated.

I just figure the world would be better without plastic and aluminum.

[geezer62]

robaldrich4
Well said, Rush. Yes, Clinton did it!!!

[name_verify]

All the Lisa Simpson type Libs are in an ethical dilemma now. Recycling was supposed to be a moral good.

LOL

[michaelt302]

Since this forum has been semi-hijacked by Ron Paul morons, I have to state one key thing: Ron Paul is, by his very nature, a fraud. Why? He''s running as a Republican. He''s not. Ron Paul stating he''s a Republican is like Mitt Romney saying he''s Chinese. It''s pure nonsense.
I''m a conservative Republican. I know when someone has or doesn''t have Republican core beliefs. And I can honestly state that, if it came down between voting for Paul or Hillary, I''d have to choose Hillary. And Hillary would be a disaster, so that in itself speaks volumes about Paul. But, at least Hillary would be willing to fight the radical Islamists. At least she is tough. Paul is so wimpy, so weak, that I can''t even find words to describe him. At least I can sleep well knowing that Americans would never, not in a million years, ever EVER elect someone as weak and spineless as Ron Paul.

[santa2007-2009]

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[omega39-2009]

Once upon a time, a $300 television was considered a major investment and expected to last for years. Thanks to unbridled consumerism, mixed with poorly built products, we are quickly destroying the planet.

[eggy1620]

Ron Paul poos directly into his flower pots. Ron Paul attached a filter to his wang and whizzes right into the water table. Ron Paul whacks himself regularly because one person breathing heavily has a smaller carbon footprint than two people breathing heavily.