| GRN Recycle Talk FAQ Answer |
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 98 15:28 EDT From: FRIEDMAN.FRED@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV (Fred Friedman) Subject: Re: Seeking information to recycle various electronic wastes (Linda Weng)
Sept. 24, 1998
Dear Linda Weng,
There is a great wealth of information available concerning the means of, the reasons for, the equipment involved, the collection methods, dismantling methods, etc. for electronics wastes. It is impossible to type in to an electronic message a fraction of the information that a nationwide effort will require.
Electronics are recyclable provided that markets can be found or made for various problemmatic components: CRT glass from televisions or computer screens, circuit boards that can't be reused, mercury-filled switches are 3 such examples. Appliance scrap metals and plastics are comparatively easy to recycle, but, again, markets must be present. Reuses are always preferable to recycling, and should always be considered.
Some of the sources that you should use include:
Waste Characterization Profile of the electronics industry by the Clean Washington Center, Seattle, WA (and on the web at www.cwc.org);
Environmental Consciousness: A strategic competitivness issue for the Electronics and Computer Industry (3/93) by the US Dept. of Energy and The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp.
1996 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap by The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp (3/96) 3500 W. Balcones Center, Dr., Austin, TX 78759.
Residential Collection of Household End-of-life Electrical and Electronic Equipment: Pilot Collection Project (2/98) by US EPA Region 1
The Research Library for RCRA has copies of these
However, except for the last one, which we will send to you by postal mail if you send us a mailing address, you should try to get them from their creators or from libraries closer to your country.
- Research Library for RCRA