Why electronic waste must be recycled, but shred first
United Nations report revealed that only 17.4% of the e-waste discarded in 2019 was recycled. With the multifarious advancement in the field of technology, the world has seen an exponential increase in both the usage as well as disposal of electronics. Any discarded equipment or products with a battery or electrical plug qualify as e-waste and can contain toxic metals and persistent organic pollutants.
UAE ranks among the countries in the Middle East with the highest e-waste generation. This makes proper e-waste disposal in Dubai a necessity. The other option is to recycle e-waste and reclaim resources that can be reused.
Here are other reasons why electronic waste must be recycled:
- Keeping e-waste out of landfills – Electronic waste is increasingly becoming a global threat due to the large volumes of disposal and prominent health and environmental risks. When e-waste is discarded into landfills, materials like cadmium, chromium, and mercury can leach into the soil and contaminate air and waterways with heavy metals. Recycling can keep e-waste out of landfills.
- Reclaiming valuable metals – According to the EPA, for every million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. The recycling process helps recover precious metals and can also be pivotal in decreasing the demand for fresh raw materials.
- Cost benefits – Almost all electronic devices are 100% recyclable. Even if a regular household cannot afford to hire recycling services, several electronics companies like Dell, Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft accept their products for recycling at little or no cost.
- Environment conservation – Recycling reduces the demand for ‘virgin material’. Recycling helps reduce the sourcing of virgin material directly from nature and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing.
Dubai witnesses high spending on electronics by individuals and companies alike, thereby leading to a high rate of obsolescence. Companies need to stay updated with the latest advancements in technology, which results in higher e-waste generation. While recycling is a beneficial alternative, companies need to be cautious with their confidentiality and data security management as well.
Endoshred’s data shredding services in Dubai can help your organization with on-site document shredding along with safe hard disk destruction. Our mobile shredding trucks provide one of the most convenient and accessible documents shredding for businesses to keep operations secure and compliant with legal guidelines, easily and effectively. To book our services, contact us at +971 4 431 0337 or mail@endoshred.com