I was inspired to do this piece by a talk I heard on a newstalk radio  station about this issue and it moved me.

 

Many “recycle companies” claim to be disposing of these end-of-life electronics properly when, in fact, they are simply shipping them overseas. A recent story on CNN.com estimates that nearly 80 percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons of electronics collected for recycling in the U.S. each year ends up in countries like China, India, and Nigeria. Workers there then use hammers, gas burners, and their bare hands to extract metals, glass, and other recyclables, thereby exposing themselves and the environment to an abundance of toxic chemicals.

In cases where we must recycle, we do it differently. All end of life devices we receive are sent to Sims Recycling Solutions. This internationally recognized recycler has facilities all over the world and meets ISO 14001 environmental management standards, ensuring that not an ounce of hazardous material ends up in our landfills.