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Computers everywhere! A new generation of computers is born every 18 to 24 months. The rapid turnover in computer technology is having a troubling side effect: each year millions of computers come to the end of their useful life. A recent study estimates that about 40 million computer systems become obsolete in the U.S. annually. By 2010, about one billion PCs will likely have become obsolete! It’s estimated that three-quarters of all computers ever purchased in the U.S. are currently stored in warehouses, attics and office closets. Some are being recycled. Of those computers that become obsolete, only 5-15% are recycled. The rest are ending up in landfills or incinerators. Why are used computers a potential problem for businesses & institutions? Businesses and institutions need to be concerned about what happens to their used computers because they contain toxic metals which may make them subject to full hazardous waste regulation if landfilled or incinerated. However, the good news is that these same computers are subject to reduced hazardous waste regulation if they are reused or recycled. Why can used computers be regulated as hazardous waste? Hazardous waste toxicity characteristics are defined by a common laboratory test known as the toxicity characteristics leaching procedure, or TCLP, and by regulatory levels for 39 chemicals, including 8 metals. Computer monitors, central processing units (CPUs), keyboards and printers all have printed circuit boards that contain metals and likely exceed toxicity characteristic levels. In addition, lead in the monitor’s cathode ray tube (CRT) generally causes it to exceed the toxicity characteristic level for lead. (Lead usually makes up about 4-8 lbs of the total weight of the monitor.) Hazardous waste regulations may prohibit businesses and institutions from disposing of waste computers in solid waste landfills and incinerators if they exceed toxicity characteristic levels. If computer components are burned or landfilled, the heavy metals in them can be released to the environment and threaten human health and the environment. Computers are know to contain beryllium, cadmium, chromium, gold, lithium, lead, mercury, nickel, silver, and zinc. What are the toxic and hazardous materials in your computer?
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