| If it’s the first time you’ve heard it, I’m happy | | | | Like virgin material mining and extraction, electronics |
| to say it’s true. Electronics recycling, along with | | | | recycling from electronic scrap has raised concerns |
| most other types of recycling is politically right, thus | | | | over toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of its |
| there are companies that will provide you with a Tax | | | | substances and processes. Toxic substances in |
| Deductible Donation Acknowledgment where you | | | | electronic waste may include lead, mercury, and |
| decide how much your donated items are worth by | | | | cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste |
| filling out the amount on the acknowledgment and then | | | | may include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). |
| filing it with your taxes at the end of the tax year. That | | | | Capacitors, transformers, and wires insulated with or |
| in a nutshell would mean that your participation in | | | | components coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), |
| electronics recycling lowers your taxes! Not only that, | | | | manufactured before 1977, often contain dangerous |
| but it helps you to garner more free space in your | | | | amounts of PCBs. |
| living quarters and costs you not one penny as most | | | | Increased regulation of electronic recycling via |
| online electronics recycling companies provide free | | | | electronic waste, and concern over the environmental |
| shipping. | | | | harm which can result from toxic electronic waste has |
| One might ask, “what’s the attraction of used | | | | raised disposal costs. The regulation creates an |
| electronics other than channeling them into electronics | | | | economic disincentive to remove residues prior to |
| recycling bins? Actually surplus electronics have | | | | export. In extreme cases, brokers and others calling |
| extremely high cost differentials. A single repairable | | | | themselves recyclers export unscreened electronic |
| laptop can be worth hundreds of dollars, while an | | | | waste to developing countries, avoiding the expense |
| imploded cathode ray tube (CRT) is extremely difficult | | | | of removing items like bad cathode ray tubes (the |
| and expensive to recycle. This has created a difficult | | | | processing of which is expensive and difficult). This |
| free-market economy. Large quantities of used | | | | makes electronics recycling look bad. |
| electronics are typically sold to countries with very high | | | | Defenders of the trade in used electronics say that |
| repair capability and high raw material demand, which | | | | extraction of metals from virgin mining has also been |
| can result in high accumulations of residue in poor | | | | shifted to developing countries. Hard-rock mining of |
| areas without strong environmental laws. Outside of | | | | copper, silver, gold and other materials extracted from |
| electronics recycling, trade in electronic waste is | | | | electronics is considered far more environmentally |
| controlled by the Basel Convention. The Basel | | | | damaging than true electronics recycling which is the |
| Convention Parties have considered the question of | | | | recycling of those materials. They also state that repair |
| whether exports of hazardous used electronic | | | | and reuse of computers and televisions has become a |
| equipment for repair or refurbishment are considered | | | | "lost art" in wealthier nations, and that refurbishing has |
| as Basel Convention hazardous wastes, subject to | | | | traditionally been a path to development. |
| import and export controls under that Convention. In | | | | With all of this said, we are pleased that America has |
| the Guidance document produced on that subject, that | | | | strict standards relative to EPA regulations. The details |
| question was left up to the Parties, however in the | | | | regarding toxicity and electronics recycling in general |
| working group all of the Parties present believed that | | | | seems like a bundle of technical dogma, or a high heap |
| when material is untested, or contains hazardous parts | | | | of electronic waste. That’s why I like to keep |
| that would need to be replaced as part of the repair | | | | simple as in Electronics Recycling Lowers My Taxes! |
| process, then the Convention did apply. | | | | |