When the term “hazardous waste “is used, usually people think of paint, toxic chemicals or bio-hazardous materials. No one thinks that one of the most common forms of hazardous waste could be a daily household item that millions of people across the world use. Many people do not know that computers and computer monitors are actually classified as hazardous waste.
Computers and computer monitors are considered hazardous waste materials due to the high amounts of dangerous materials that can be found in both of these items. Every computer contains high levels of heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, lead, toxins and plastics. All of these materials are considered hazardous to people’s health and the environment, which is why many states and federal governments require that computers and computer monitors need to be properly recycled to avoid environmental and health issues.
Many of the materials that are found in computers and computer monitors are considered non-renewable, which means that they will not occur naturally in the environment. While these materials might be non-renewable, they are not one time use only materials. Materials such as the metals and leads can be taken out of recycled monitors and computers and used again to build other computer monitors and computer hardware devices.
There are various government and private computer recycling programs that will take any computer free of charge and dispose of the materials properly. In fact, many states feel so strongly about recycling electronics that they made it a state law that carries a very hefty fine if it is not followed. Recycling electronics such as computers and computer monitors allows any salvageable materials to be recycled and reused to build other computer models. Materials that cannot be recycled and reused will be properly disposed of so that they do not effect anyone’s health or the environment’s wellbeing.
