Today July 1st, North Carolina becomes the latest state to fight back against the growing amount of e-waste in landfills. E-waste includes televisions, laptops, desktop computers, monitors, printers, scanners, fax machines, key boards, and mice. The ban is designed to keep harmful chemicals and materials like lead, mercury, and cadmium out of the ground and water. It also encourages people to recycle safely.
Many counties in North Carolina offer collection programs for electronics and white goods- large household appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, air conditioners, and wasting machines. All computer manufacturers are required to offer a free mail-back for their own equipment, and some offer additional kinds of recycling. Goodwill is another place to take your waste. They will either resell it or give it to the proper recycling centers. The NCDENR offers a comprehensive list of recycling options in the state, click here to find out more.
You might think this ban is harmful and inconvenient, but it's not; the ban will benefit the environment and the economy of North Carolina. The state is home to about a half-dozen major electronic recycling companies, which is more than most other states. “By capturing valuable materials for reuse and reducing our dependence on landfills, electronics recycling can help us achieve both our environmental and economic development goals,” said Secretary Dee Freeman of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “I encourage all North Carolinians to join in this effort to make the electronics disposal ban a success.”
So think twice when you want to throw away an old piece of electronic equipment.
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