Environmental Waste Disposal

"Waste" has become such a loaded word in the passing years that it simply applies to just about every aspect of our lives. When a person considers what they eat, drink, discard, wear and share, waste is usually involved. Our environment is overrun with waste, and much of it has to do with improper placement, ignorance and apathy, all which can change with a few slight changes in our environmental waste disposal routine and the color of the bins we use on garbage day.

One of the most quickly growing problems in environmental waste disposal is a sort of backlash from our never-ending advances in technology. E-waste is a term that refers to electronic waste, and it is present everywhere, even public parks and on the sides of the road. New trends in mobile technology, namely new lines of computers, smartphones and tablets, leave old devices rather obsolete. The dated hardware, usually bulky and hard to move compared to the lightweight devices now, are incorrectly discarded in public places. From there, pieces are scattered throughout the environment, some poisonous and some harmful to wild life.

New e-waste laws in recent years have forced larger corporations, like Best Buy, to make centers available for people to return their old equipment, as well as offer buy-back programs, which offer a discount incentive for people to return old electronics instead of throwing them away or illegally disposing of them. According to electronicstakeback.com statistics, 65 percent of the U.S. is already or is close to enforcing e-waste laws. Companies like Apple have also gone to great lengths to not only recycle old parts and refurbish old computers, but their newer products and work centers are incredibly eco-friendly. This is a preventative measure, which the government stresses as being critical, because preventative measures are much less expensive than righting a wrong.

Recycling during garbage pick-up days is another type of environmental waste disposal. Although recycling has been around for some time, there have been a lot of advances along the way as to what can be recycled. New lists have recently hit the web disclosing the different types of recyclable items, a list far more advanced than a decade ago. The Los Angeles Times, along with other news outlets have released new lists with updates on some advances in items that can be recycled, as well as warn people about some of the unacceptable forms of recycling.

All of the products that we buy, consume, use and discard have a life process, just like human beings. Humans are, however, meant to be environmentally conscious. By creating eco-friendly products that have longer life, electronics are having a sort of eco-consciousness of their own in a way. It is important for people to acknowledge that waste is cyclical, not linear. Technology is supposed to be used and reused because of its potential to go through the processes repeatedly, whereas before, people would see products with a start and end point (or garbage). As always, education and awareness will always be the keystones to understanding each other's roles towards the environment.