Electronic Waste by Recycling Policy Choices: -Offer retired computers and electronic equipment to agency personnel after degaussing of the hard drive. -Send retired computers and electronic equipment to M&R, rather than offering them for sale. -Donate surplus computers to a local school district or local governments . The local school or local governments, have the right to accept or not accept the computers. -Sell surplus computers and electronic equipment to a school district or local governments, at a price determined by the Department of Finance and Administration. Really Recycled? Electronic Waste by Recycling Burning computer components releases dioxins, furans, PCB's, and other toxins into the atmosphere, and also into the lungs of anyone nearby. Why would anyone incinerate a PC? It's the cheapest, low-tech way to separate the worthless plastics from the salable metals. If you reside in a poor country without environmental and safety standards, this is how you separate and "recycle" materials. For example, yank the wires from desktops, then burn them to separate the worthless rubberized plastic coating from the salable copper within. Johnny Droege Above is a map showing which states have integrated electronic waste programs. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, almost 2.4 million tons of electronics were disposed of in 2009, an increase of more than 120 percent from 1999. Of this amount, only 25 percent were collected for recycling. The rest ended up in landfills and incinerators. This includes computers, televisions, stereos, printers, copiers and mobile devices. Outcomes Though the recycle route might be a little more work on the owners part, in the long run it will greatly pay off not only the environment, but the health of people who have to sort through it and decide what is good and what is bad. By implementing this policy, it will make the process of recycling old computers much easier and much more healthy.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural- resources/e-waste-recycling-legislation.aspx http://www.osnews.com/story/23526/Scandal_Most_Recycled_Co mputers_are_Not_Recycled http://www.dis.arkansas.gov/policiesStandards/Pages/comp_recyc .aspx