LANDFILL What happens when you throw away your old computer?      A significant number of electronic devices in North America ultimately end up in municipal garbage dumps. According to a Statistics Canada report published in March 2008, over one third of Canadians keep unused and unwanted computer and telecommunication technology (such as old cell phones) in their homes because they are unsure of how to properly dispose of them, while 16% of the population put this e-waste out for garbage collection and 5% dispose of their e-waste in an uncontrolled manner (which could include burial or abandonment) [30]. In this case, industry has missed an opportunity to recycle the valuable metals in the product and will therefore require additional mined copper and gold to replace the metals that have been taken out of circulation. Furthermore, there exists the potential for the heavy metals and other known toxins in the e-waste to contaminate the surrounding soil and water table. “The presence of some toxic materials does not create a crisis,” says EPA official Clare Lindsay, of the Office of Solid Waste. “We believe that landfills can safely manage most of these waste products. … We haven’t seen any contamination of ground water associated with electronics discarded in landfills” [31]. Reassurances that there are no known cases of contamination having occurred does not preclude the possibility of undetected or future contamination.
The Greening of Information Technology LIBR 500: Foundations of Information Technology, School of Library, Archival and Information Science, University of British Columbia Neil MacDonald November 17th, 2008