Technology conserves both energy and money. Electronic devices save thousands of pounds of paper - and 8 times that many trees. However, while electronic devices improve our productivity and efficiency, they are not without their own environmental impacts.

Awareness of how e-waste affects our environment is crucial to limiting our need for scarce natural resources and encouraging more sustainable practices. At Lexington Computer Recycling, we are dedicated to properly disposing of your electronic devices, reducing the number of old phones in your junk drawer and the tons of e-waste that make it into landfills in every year.

What is E-Waste, and How Does it Affect the Environment?

E-waste is the colloquial term for all your electronic wastes, including your copiers, stereos, VCRs, computers, tablets, televisions, and other media devices that are outdated and otherwise not useful. According to a UN report in 2019, the world produces nearly 50 million tons of e-waste annually, and the numbers are only increasing. In total, e-waste can be worth to up to $62.5 billion yearly - enough money to give the entire 330+ million population of the United States $190 dollars each.

The UN also reports that less than 20% of e-waste is properly recycled a year. In comparison, the EPA estimated that more than 68% of paper products were recycled in 2018. Being made of plants, paper is also biodegradable and only takes a few weeks to decompose - brown paper and newsprint can even be thrown into a compost pile.

Meanwhile, improperly disposed of electronic devices take millions of years to decompose. They choke landfills and expose people to hazardous chemicals. The scarce materials used to make electronic devices like gold, cobalt, platinum, lithium, copper, and rare earth metals are lost, making it necessary to mine for more.

E-waste is also illegally dumped into developing countries. They are burned and release toxic chemicals into the air and water while mountains of their remains pile up alongside people’s homes. Therefore, while electronics may save paper, without proper recycling, they aren’t necessarily better for the environment.

What Can Be Done?

E-recycling like at Lexington Computer Recycling reduces the amount of e-waste in the environment and saves scarce and precious resources so they can be reused.

Once your e-waste is dropped off at our facility, you can be confident that we adhere to rigorous data security and environmentally conscious regulations. Your material will not be dumped in a landfill, and your data won’t be in the wrong hands. We are skilled at extracting precious materials from your devices before properly disposing of them and permanently erasing your personal data. We can recycle most e-waste at no charge, except for LCD monitors, televisions, old glass-type monitors, and certain batteries that require a limited fee to cover recycling costs that keep the recycling process environmentally friendly.

Contact Us

Lexington Computer Recycling was created to make getting rid of your old, broken, and outdated devices easy. Call or contact us today to learn more about our e-recycling process. Besides our electronics recycling, we also perform data destruction and logistics services from our Nicholasville, KY facility. We are proud to serve Nicholasville, Lexington, Georgetown, Frankfort, and Louisville, KY, as well as Cincinnati, OH, and the entire U.S.