Drive diverts chemical-laden, outdated PCs, TVs from dump

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http://detnews.com/2001/livingston/0101/28/b05l-180836.htm

January 28, 2001

Drive diverts chemical-laden, outdated PCs, TVs from dump

By Steve Pardo / The Detroit News

HOWELL -- The names on the computers read like blasts from the past --

Apple, Commodore and IBM clones created before the advent of Pentium chips.

They're dinosaurs, these cabinets of plastic, glass and electronics -- no

longer useful in an information age that measures performance by the

microsecond and considers two years old to be ancient.

But it's not safe to simply pitch old personal computers in the trash.

Their innards read like a laundry list of environmental evils: lead,

mercury, chromium, cadmium, chemically -treated plastic.

The best approach is to recycle unwanted PCs, said Judy Fearnside of the

Recycle Livingston county agency.

" They need to be kept out of landfills, " she said. " And there's a lot of

plastic and metal that can be used again. "

On Saturday, her agency hosted its first computer and electronic

recycling drive to help residents dispose of outdated electronic gear. A

steady stream of people kept organizers busy stacking the discards into

trucks. Three hours after gates opened at the agency's drop-off center in

Howell, a 30-foot moving truck was filled. And the people kept coming.

" It's been sitting in the basement collecting dust for about two years

now, " said Howell resident Pierson as he unloaded his old 486-speed

computer. " I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't want to just throw it

away. "

Actually, many people do simply throw old computers in the garbage -- a

growing problem that worries environmentalists.

Of the 300 million computer monitors sold from 1980-97, only 1.7 million

were recycled, according to the National Safety Council's Environmental

Health Center. The council estimates more than 315 million obsolete U.S.

computers will need to be disposed of by 2004.

Computers, TVs and other electronics account for 40 percent of the lead

found in American's waste dumps today, the council said.

Lead causes learning disabilities and kidney problems in children. Other

toxins can also find their way into groundwater.

Most local recycling companies can't handle the toxins found in the

high-tech machines. And it's too expensive for local governments to pay.

Industries in southeast Michigan pay $300 per ton to dispose of old

computers and electronics. Up to 90 percent of the monitors were shipped to

China for disposal. But China, tired of being the world's dumping ground for

gadgets, outlawed the practice last spring.

On Saturday, people paid to have the old equipment taken off their hands.

Costs ranged from $1 to circuit boards to $10 for an entire system.

The equipment will be broken down by a recycling company in Michigan. The

plastic will be melted and resold. Copper wires will be stripped and reused.

Remnants of the equipment then will be shipped to sites in Pennsylvania and

Ohio for more specialized recycling.

You can reach Steve Pardo at (517) 552-5503 or spardo@....