Our Policy on Electronic Waste

Compu Corps.org has a great concern about the environmental impacts due to the electronics we work with. In order to meet this concern we are continually researching the available steps and precautions we should make to be as environmentally friendly as feasibly possible.

There is interest about the electronics we handle going to landfills and recycling because of all of the hazards the processes involve. 

When electronics are sent to landfills there is the potential for them to become toxic and leak into the environment. Chemicals like lead, mercury, and bromide are routinely put into landfills in Ontario since there are not any regulations or laws to stop people from dumping. 

Concerns about recycling

Recyclers typically will disassemble the electronics and sort them in order to sell them in bulk to companies that will harvest parts for useful materials. Circuit cards like motherboards and memory can contain precious metals like gold and platinum which recycling companies can melt down and sell to manufacturers. However in order to get to the valuable materials, recyclers must go through all of the material that might not be as valuable. Hazards can be lead in CRT's, brominated flame retardants on plastic, lead in circuit soldering, mercury in new LCD's and laptop screens, and even arsenic and cadmium.

For example the glass of a CRT's screen is valuable glass, however some in some CRT's they contain lead, which means it would be contaminate the glass if they simply sold it back to a manufacturer as glass, therefore to get the most reuse out of the glass it is better to remove the lead.

Other concerns about recyclers is that many export their waste to developing countries, where it is disassembled for precious metals in unsafe and environmentally dangerous conditions. Workers do their work without proper ventilation or safety equipment, and without these precautions the hazardous by-products of the process are free to contaminate the workers and the environment. As well as prison labour being used to disassemble electronics, which raises dubious moral issue, that they are being paid very low wages which can be seen as slave labour since they are in prison, although the idea is that no one is forced into doing the work.

What Compu Corps.org is doing

Through our TechReuse program, Compu Corps.org works toward making used laptops and computers into resources for those in need of computer systems. By giving those systems a second life, the electronics are diverted from landfill and kept in circulation to enhance the possibilities of recovering the resources greater in the future.

The computers and laptops donated through our TechReuse program go towards helping local charities and low-income groups receive technology for free or at affordable prices. We evaluate the electronics that come in and refurbish what can be fixed and responsibly recycle what cannot be.

Why is Electronic Waste a problem?

The reason there are so many electronics are going to landfills is because that is how they were designed. Manufacturers make more money if people buy more of their products, so they plan for the electronics either to become obsolete, or break down after a certain number of yeas to attempt to get the consumer to buy new products from them. This is called planned obsolescence, and it has become a part of most facets of our life in North America, we live disposable lifestyles where nothing is permanent, and so much that we buy goes quickly to landfills.

Federal

Parliament has not made a ruling on what has been is to be done with electronic waste, and although they ratified the original Basel Convention they did not include electronic waste as a controlled substance nor have they ratified the amendment to the ban. Canada also created the The Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations however electronic scrap and components like circuit boards are exempted.

More is being done for electronic waste at the provincial level in Canada. B.C. and Alberta already have implemented programs towards an Extended Product Stewardship, and Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba have plans currently in development.

Ontario

Electrical waste falls under the jurisdiction of Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO), which has begun to plan a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Program (WEEE), the plan is up on the WDO and Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) websites. 

Currently municipalities in Ontario are in charge of disposing of e-waste and many of them organize "take it back" days. Along similar lines, the city of Ottawa has a listing of companies that will take your e-waste and often charge a fee.The risk in giving your e-waste to these companies is that there is not any legislation currently telling them how to dispose of the waste, so how do we know is is being recycled environmentally.

What Can You Do?

Are you aware of what is happening with your electronic waste, is it going to landfills? If your putting it out with your municipal trash then it most likely is. Be responsible for your hazardous waste, and research how to responsibly dispose of it.

There are many charities and for-profit organizations that will take various electronics, though be sure to do research about their policies of what they do with the items they receive. Check out our TechReuse program to see what we accept.

Many companies and organizations can go through computer systems and laptops very quickly, desktops usually lasting around 4 years and laptops lasting about 3. Sometimes even more often when they need to keep up with the ever improving technology available. Does your company or organization dispose of their e-waste responsibly? Organizations have the options of donating or recycling their electronics depending on their needs, and usually have options for secure hard drive wiping or destruction.

A survey in 2003 on Canadian IT electrical and electronic equipment predicted if recycling and reuse continued at the 2003 rate, by 2010 they would be recycling about 15.3% of the total disposed electronic waste, however if there were changes, and programs to support them they predicted it could increase to 66% recycling. Help support the effort to keep electronics out of landfills and find out what your company is doing with it's e-waste.

Other Resources:

Environment Canada

Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO)

Electronic Product Stewardship Canada

Ontario Electronic Stewardship

Basel Convention

City of Ottawa Recycling and Garbage