recycling near me

Recycling critical metals from electronics could ease mining impacts

In short:

  • The latest Global E-Waste Monitor highlights the vast quantities of metals like copper and aluminum in discarded electronics, with only a fraction currently recycled.

  • Essential for low-carbon technologies, these metals could significantly offset the demand currently met through environmentally damaging mining.

  • Improved recycling technologies and policies are crucial for increasing the recovery of rare and valuable metals from e-waste.

Key quote:

“There is very little reporting on the recovery of metals [from e-waste] globally. We felt that it was our duty to get more facts on the table.”

— Kees Baldé, lead report author

Why this matters:

Metals like copper and aluminum, when improperly disposed of, can leach into soil and water, potentially harming wildlife and impacting human health through the food and water supply. Recycling e-waste can mitigate these risks. By recovering metals like copper and aluminum from old electronics, we not only reduce the environmental harm but also decrease the need to extract raw materials, which often involves ecologically and socially harmful mining practices.

In 2021, electronic waste from outweighed the Great Wall of China.

https://www.ehn.org/recycling-critical-metals-from-electronics-could-ease-mining-impacts-2667811868.html

Sustainable solutions to overconsumption challenges in modern marketing

by Dani Rae Wascher, University of New Mexico

Professor of Marketing at the Anderson School of Management, Catherine Roster, provides insight into the marketing world of overconsumption and a shift in mindset to sustainability long-term.

Roster, along with her colleague Joseph Ferrari, a psychologist at DePaul University, co-authored a research article published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology where they discovered that clutter has a strong negative relationship with people's feelings of well-being and their psychological sense of home, which reflects a person's feelings about home being a safe refuge. Read More…

DON'T THROW YOUR OLD LAPTOP IN THE DUMPSTER—DO THIS INSTEAD


Written by Joanna Nelius, senior editor and E Ink enthusiast with 5+ years experience testing PC hardware and laptops.

Updated December 11, 2023 USA Today

Help cut down on electronic waste by recycling or donating your old laptop.

All electronic devices eventually go to the great motherboard in the sky. But instead of unceremoniously sending what was once the best laptop you ever purchased to the city dump, opt to recycle or donate it. Recycling or donating your old machine is a fantastic way to help cut down e-waste by extracting precious metals and plastic for use in other applications. Or if there’s still life left in your laptop, donate to someone who can’t afford a brand-new one. READ MORE

State budget provision stymies local plastic reduction efforts in North Carolina

by Will Atwater September 26, 2023 NC Health News

Environmental advocates across the state were shocked last week by the insertion of a provision in House Bill 259, now part of the 2023-24 state budget, that blocks local municipalities from establishing ordinances to reduce single-use plastic use. - You can’t make this stuff up!

“Plastic waste is a scourge on our society on many levels,” said Wil Weldon, board chair of Don’t Waste Durham, a nonprofit organization working to eliminate waste by establishing a so-called circular economy, a system designed to “keep materials, products and services in circulation for as long as possible” to slow climate change, according to the EPA. If fewer single-use materials, such as plastics, are produced, it lowers CO2 emissions from fossil fuels used to make plastics, and it reduces emissions from plastic waste decomposition. READ MORE…

Apple faces shareholder action targeting repair policy

Updated: September 16, 2021
by Colin Staub ESCRAP NEWS

An environment-focused investment firm this month filed a shareholder resolution with Apple, asking the OEM to move away from its “restrictive” product repair policies.

Green Century Capital Management on Sept. 9 announced the shareholder proposal. Through the resolution process, Apple shareholders may be asked to vote on the measure at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Apple shares make up 3.71% of one fund managed by Green Century, which is based in Portland, Maine.

“Investors are extremely concerned about Apple’s disingenuous combination of promoting environmental sustainability while inhibiting product repair,” Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich said in a release. “The company risks losing its reputation as a climate leader if it does not cease its anti-repair practices.”

READ MORE….