Electronic waste, particularly computers and their accessories, require particular care when they are discarded. The pressure to buy new equipment to meet increasing demand for your services, or to compete with rivals, means that the turnover of your computer units could be a yearly event. That is a lot of computer waste over the lifetime of a business, and with industry prices staying low and new electronic gadgets requiring a heap of upgrades, it is no surprise that people are constantly looking for newer, more responsive equipment. This means that there is a constant need for ways to discard old computers.
Why recycling is a must
Under UK law, items termed as e-waste, including computer equipment such as monitors, hard drives and motherboards, have to be disposed of in a particular fashion. The WEEE law of 2007 requires that you obtain written evidence that your computer waste has been passed onto a recognised waste management company, and that company will manage and dispose of the waste according to law. Electronic equipment produced after this law was established will be marked with a wheelie bin symbol with a large cross through it.
Why recycling should be done
In addition to the legal requirements for waste disposal, there are also pressing reasons why you should consider recycling computer waste. Firstly, there is increasing anxiety about the amount of toxic chemicals in e-waste, including glass, up to 2kg of lead, and a range of other metals, plus plastic. Getting rid of these toxins through general waste would mean that you are likely to contaminate the environment plus it is illegal now to do so in the general waste. Having a recycling programme in place shows that your company cares about he environment and it could gain you additional customers through simply recycling.