Campaign aims to recycle 'e-waste'

Activists say the nation's biggest environmental problem may be the smallest devices, and this week they're launching campaigns to increase awareness about recycling cell phones, music players, handheld gaming consoles and other electronics. [via CNN].

[...] The biggest offenders are cell phones, said Dinn, because they pose a hazardous "double whammy" to the environment.

To build them, gold and other metals must be extracted from mines in western states, in Peru, Turkey, Tanzania and other countries. The Environmental Protection Agency ranks hard-rock mining as the nation's leading toxic polluter.

Then, at the end of their life cycles, many phones end up in landfills, where they may leak lead and other heavy metals that could pollute nearby ground water.

[...] Americans have about 500 million obsolete, broken or otherwise unused cell phones, and about 130 million more are added each year -- the equivalent of 65,000 tons of waste, and less than 2 percent are recycled according to the EPA".

Related articles:

-- Making cell phones hurts Gorillas - The spread of small-scale mining for gold, precious stones and columbine tantalite, a mineral used to make cell phones and other high-tech gadgets are partially responsible for the decimation of Congolese gorillas.

-- Recycled phones and "blood Tantalum" - "There is an even deadlier reason why it is critical that old phones don't get tossed away- people are literally dying for them. The legacy of "blood diamonds" is well known, however the fact that a similar arrangement exists to mine coltan (Columbium Tantalum) is lesser known."

emily | 5:53 PM | Health Issues and SMS Alerts |
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