Technology Down The Drain: 3 Items That Should Be Recycled And Not End Up In Landfills

As much as we appreciate the technological advancements we benefit from today, we somehow seem to have quite a short memory when it comes to appreciating what we have and what we can achieve if we just kept our eyes a little bit more open and would invest a few moments of our time to make things right.

For example, technology is so developed nowadays that allows people to build perfectly ecological – friendly houses, save energy, save water, protect the environment.

These developments come from people who worked hard to put together the materials, the mechanisms, the principles and so on, while on the other hand, others pay good money to live in green homes and give nature a breather.

And yet, we see the same technology we all applaud and use everyday thrown away with little to no respect for the discarded items, or for the environment. In a world that more and more started to care about recycling and protecting the planet we live on, bits of pieces of what some time ago was technology at its highest, now lie around like garbage.

There are a lot of items out there that should be recycled, but the following three make the subject of interest from more than one environmentalist point of view.

 

Technology Items That Should Be Recycled

Batteries

In spite of a growing trend in recycling batteries and the recent laws passed in the United States about throwing away rechargeable batteries to the trash bin, there are still hundreds of thousands of tons of batteries that are being recklessly tossed away all over the world.

Batteries – collecting centers are available almost everywhere, even in electronics shops or mobile phones shops so it actually takes a little effort to become eco-conscious.

 

Printer cartridges

Some people refill them, as some cartridges are made to be used more than one time only, while other people just throw them away. Some statistics speak of almost a billion ink and toner cartridges being thrown away on a yearly basis, ending up in landfills.

The plastic they are made of is said to not decompose in less than 1000 years and the saddest part to all this is there are certified companies which constantly encourage the population of bringing back the used cartridges for recycling, being willing to pay people for them or raise money for charity.

So next time you go out to buy your blu cig refills, make sure you drop your old printer cartridge to the nearest center, make some money or invest in the future of the next generations.

 

Electronics

What do you do with that old kitchen robot that broke? Throw it away and buy another one, right? Some reports made public by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency state that Americans throw away not only old equipment, but computer circuits, phones and even laptops.

There are charitable organizations which collect every year the old technology from companies and corporations, repair the computers and printers and then donate them to schools or NGO’s in poverty-affected areas but even if one doesn’t feel that is necessary to find such collecting organization and bring the old PC there, other solutions can be found, especially since there are laws that made illegal for individuals to throw away electronic equipment.

Suffice to say, technology is here to help us and make our lives simpler and better. But showing it little respect and moreover, showing the environment that we are negligent will only turn to negative effects.

So next time you want to dispose of your CFL light bulbs, your old computer motherboard, your broken camera and even your cell phone old case, think about the landfills and the vulnerable populations out there in the world for whom your trash can become their treasure.