The New Wave in Electronics: * Electronics 530F04020 ' I I www.plugintoecycling.org ------- OUR "PLUGGED IN" WORLD relies on an ever-growing and constantly changing supply of electronic products. With newer, more hi-tech electronics continuously becoming avail- able to fit our lifestyles, we are replac- ing older models at rapid rates with no signs of slowing down. As a result, elec- tronics are becoming one the fastest growing portions of America's trash. What You Can Do eCycle!—Keep electronics out of the trash! $$ Refurbish, fix, or upgrade your equip- ment so you can continue to use it @ Use some of the parts of an old system to build a new system 4§) Donate your old electronics to a local charity or school for reuse or refurbishing @> Drop off your old electronics to a local recycling program, such as a municipal or community program or a retail collec- tion program Where to eCycle For Information on donation or recycling programs in your area contact your city or county recycling coordinator or visit: • The Electronic Industries Alliance www.eiae.org • Earth 911 www.earth911 .org • TechSoup www.techsoup.org Some national computer companies offer opportunities to safely recycle electronics through the mail and certain retailers have ongoing or occasional drop-off locations. Check to see if they provide these opportunities. EPA's Concern More than 2 million tons of used electronics are dis- each year. Based on current disposal rates, i will have also discarded up to 154 million computers by 2005. ------- tfft Benefits of eCycling Recycling or reusing old electronics, or "eCycling/' can: Conserve Natural Resources eCycling recovers valuable material from old electronics which can be used to make new products. Cutting down on the need to mine the earth for new raw materials, recycling and reusing electronics saves resources. Did You Know? Manufacturing one desktop computer requires fossil fuels and chemicals that amount to at least 9 times the weight of the computer! Protect the Environment Safely recycling and reusing electronics helps keep substances like lead and mercury from harming people or the environment. Help Others Donating your old electronics lets someone else access technology he or she might not be able to afford otherwise. Strengthen the Local Economy Recycling and reusing electronics creates jobs for professional recyclers and refur- bishers and creates new markets for the valuable components that are dismantled. ------- What Can Be eCycled *Jj Hard drives :: Monitors «$> Keyboards Printers DVD players VCRs Software Pagers Digital equipment Scanners and much, much more.. EPA's Plug-In To eCycling Program Plug-In To eCycling aims to give Americans more opportunities to safely, conveniently, and affordably recycle their old electronics. Plug-In is one of many new efforts under EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC). The RCC challenges all Americans—makers, sellers, and buyers of goods—to embrace a new resource conservation ethic. It encourages the design of greener products, wiser product pur- chasing, and reuse and recovery of products. EPA recognizes the following Plug-In To eCycling partners for their contribution to safe electronics recycling. ART Wireless DOLL Intel. LEXM,VRK Panasonic Ao/ieer PHILIPS SHXVRP. SONY ^fl^P* ------- ------- |