Some Facts on Environmental Waste and Electronic Recycling
80% of all American trash and waste is dumped into landfills each year.
Electronic waste constitutes 2-5% of the US municipal solid waste stream and continues to grow rapidly. A projected 500 million pieces of electronic equipment will be discarded between 1997-2007.
The National Safety Council estimates that the number of obsolete computers in the United States will reach 315 million in 2004. This same study found that only 11% of obsolete equipment is recycled.
The average life span of a personal computer has shrunk from four or five years to barely two years.
An average of 200 million tons of computers and other e-waste are discarded into landfills and incinerators every year in the US.
Monitor glass contains about 20% lead by weight. When glass is crushed into a landfill, the lead has the potential to leak into the soil.
Each computer and television display uses a Cathode Ray Tube that contains an average of 4-8 pounds of lead.
