Correct Disposal Of Your Laptop

I had never really thought of how I might dispose of an old laptop or its related gadgets, as I had always handed down any unwanted or out of date equipment to friends or family but I did not know that I could not or rather, should not just put it in the bin. I wrongly believed that rubbish companies would sort through my rubbish more thoroughly and dispose of them appropriately. Someone recently said to me that more people should think of disposing of electrical equipment the same as if they were disposing of their car, it needs to be disposed of correctly.

We have become a society that has grown a need to compete, we want to own the latest in technology meaning therefore we have developed a throwaway culture, rather than the make do and mend mentality of our past. It is for this reason that the correct disposal of our computers has become such an issue. In its own right to recycle a laptop and laptop repair has become a competitive and lucrative business, but as consumers we fail to realise the value of recycling such goods.

A belief that recycling one individual item, whether it be a Computer, Telephone or laptop, will not make a difference, is causing a massive build-up of electrical waste. The key is you and your actions can make a difference, and it is only if we all think this way that our numbers add up and we can then make a difference. A number of companies now provide a service that will actually give you cash for laptop or offer a service to recycle a laptop.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) became European Law in 2003 setting collection, recycling and recovery targets for the manufacturers of electrical equipment. This directive sets out that household consumers of electronic equipment should have the chance of returning WEEE at least free of charge, and the commercial companies are required to use the collected waste in an ecologically-friendly manner.

Developed countries have issued controls for the automotive industry giving strict guidelines for their manufacture, maintenance and decommissioning. Similar controls exist in Europe and many other countries for the repair and decommissioning of Computers. Export of waste to countries with lower environmental standards is a major computer or electronic concern, this is because some developing nations have become dumping grounds for so called e-waste. The high value of working and re-usable laptops, computers and such like pay the cost for transporting the worthless items such as broken monitors, circuit boards etc.

Another issue with the mass exportation of our electrical waste to less fortunate countries is the use of our old computer equipment to retrieve our valuable personal information, which is then sold on the black market to be used in anything from email scams to bank fraud. It is the TV and newspaper coverage of these incidents that has led us to hesitate more on where the correct place is to dispose of our electrical equipment. Stronger controls need to be enforced to ensure of the safe disposal of our electronic equipment and a better commercial awareness is required.

Out of date or unwanted computers and other electronics are seen as a valuable source for secondary raw materials. But if they are not treated properly they are a dangerous source of toxins and carcinogenic. This can be extremely damaging to the environment, also the secondary materials are sometimes a scarce resource and require significant energy to extract them from the natural deposits. The reuse of these valuable materials is the overall solution to paying for and disposing of our electrical goods. It is only when solutions become cost efficient that a solution can be found, but it will also take a lot of effort to put in regulations to enforce such a change.

To be more sure of a safe disposal of you electronic equipment, companies that will offer a service of paying cash for your old unwanted electrical items or offer laptop repairs will guarantee your personal information is not mistreated or disposed of correctly, in order to prevent any issues of fraud. This also gives you more assurance that you are not contributing to the environmental damage that is an ever going concern for our future.