Nothing's Free, Even Tossing Trash Away

One of the costs of advanced society is ever more complex, and potentially toxic, trash. Take computers . . . please. They're full of metals and other substances that might qualify them as hazardous or toxic waste. All sorts of electronic materials contain metals, and compact fluorescent lamps have a smidgen of mercury in them. And yet people (and I mean me) don't want to properly dispose of them, so we try to give them away or just dump them in the trash, rather than pay someone to properly recycle them.

This article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette points out part of the problem. Evidently someone in the Keystone State, and probably elsewhere, is taking computers and other electronic equipment and shipping them off to Third World countries, where they are disassembled in unsafe conditions, exposing workers to health hazards. The advantage is that it is much cheaper to do it that way rather than pay a more conscientious recycler to do the work in a place where there are worker health protections. Legitimate recyclers like Greenspan Computer Recycling are harmed when we take the easier, and less expensive option, of fobbing our waste off on someone who will do dangerous work for next to nothing. Keep that in mind when you're throwing away your next worthless item. And if you're looking for a place to recycle in West Virginia, call Carroll Cather at the WV DEP, 304 926-0499.