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In today´s technology-driven society, the number of screens, appliances, and other types of electronic products we own, use, and rely on continues to grow year by year. For many people, we rely on technology and electronic devices throughout the entirety of our day. We wake up in the morning to an alarm on the phone, brush our teeth with an electric toothbrush, and set our smart thermometer in our home, before following the GPS direction in our car to get to work. At work, we probably spend long hours in front of a computer screen or other monitor. At lunch, we probably order oyr food via an app on our phones. At night, when we return home, we may turn on the TV to watch a movie before eventually setting our alarm once again before heading to bed.
According to one recent study found, the average household in the United States owns an average of 11 connected devices, including seven with screens to view content (e.g. smartphones or TVs). As 5G internet continues to advance and become the norm across the country, we should see an even further increase in connected devices.
Though technology, appliances, and electronics certainly have brought much good to the world, they also come with an enormous, though often overlooked, environmental impact. The precious metals that processors and screens require are often mined in unsustainable ways around the world. Furthermore, many electronic devices are specifically designed to only last a couple of years at best. For example, Apple has installed special five-point screws housing its processors and batteries so the average person simply cannot replace the battery by themselves. Conveniently, the battery in an iPhone will generally only last for 12-24 months, or about the time it takes for a new iPhone to come out, anyway.
This practice of “planned obsolescence” might mean good business for tech companies, but it also creates a huge influx of electronic waste (e-waste). Below, we briefly explain the very serious dangers that come with e-waste, and then explain how Junk King of Long Beach can help individuals and businesses get rid of their used electronic products in an environmentally friendly way.
The Problem with E-Waste
Electronic waste is thus defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
“E-waste”, “electronic waste”, “e-scrap” and “end-of-life electronics” are terms often used to describe used electronics that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded, donated or given to a recycler. Though “e-waste” is the commonly used term, EPA considers e-waste to be a subset of used electronics and recognizes the inherent value of these materials that can be reused, refurbished, or recycled to minimize the actual waste that might end up in a landfill or improperly disposed of in an unprotected dump site either in the US or abroad.”
Unfortunately, only about 1/8th of all electronics and appliances are eventually recycled, meaning that an enormous amount of used phones, computers, electronics, and appliances eventually end up in local landfills or are discarded in illegal dumps.
One of the biggest problems with e-waste items is that most electronic devices contain several potentially dangerous components that are classified as toxic waste. Up to 70 percent of all toxic elements in landfills across the United States come from the used electronics and appliances that we throw away, even though e-waste as a whole is only 2 percent of the total amount of waste sent to landfills each year.
Your used phone or old TV that is sent to the landfill may be potentially dangerous to both human health and the local environment. Inside our used TVs, computers, phones, and other electronics you can find toxic components such as mercury, lead, cadmium, polybrominated flame retardants, barium, and lithium. In a landfill, these toxic elements can potentially leach into the soil and even local watersheds.
When these heavy metals and other dangerous toxic chemicals reach sources of groundwater, they eventually make their way into ponds, streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. If consumed, this can cause serious health risks to human communities.
California E-Waste Laws
Because of the serious issues related to electronic waste contamination, the state of California has been a nationwide leader in implementing pioneering legislation for electronic waste recovery and recycling programs. These programs have sought to implement cost-free recycling opportunities for consumers in order to reduce and prevent illegal dumping of electronic waste and to decrease the hazardous materials entering the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream.
According to the Californians Against Waste website, “since enactment of (the e-waste recycling law), more than 600 recycling locations have been established statewide, and more than 30 approved recyclers. This program has contributed to the recovery and recycling of more than 2 BILLION pounds of Covered Electronic Devices, since the program’s inception.”
Despite these achievements, there is still a long road ahead to removing e-waste contamination. For example, of the 18 million cell phones sold in California in 2010, only 3.7 million were eventually recycled. This amounts to a meager 21 percent recycling rate, and this rate may be even lower for computers, TVs, appliances, and other larger sources of e-waste. On a national level, we only have a 15 percent recycling rate for all sources of e-waste.
Hire Junk King to Responsibly Get Rid of your E-Waste Items
For homeowners, individuals, and business owners who want to responsibly get rid of their electronic items, Junk King of Long Beach offers the easiest e-waste recycling service in the region. We are proud to be a top-rated professional junk removal company in the southern California region. We offer the best prices to help residents and business owners of Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Carson, Compton, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, San Pedro, Signal Hill, South Gate, and Wilmington get rid of all of their e—waste items, including:
- Refrigerators, freezers and other cooling equipment
- Computers, phones, and other telecommunications equipment
- Consumer electronic devices and solar panels
- TVs, monitors and screens
- LED bulbs
- Vending machines
- Printers and scanners
- Keyboards, mice, cables, and circuit boards
- Lamps and clocks,
- Answering machines
- Digital/video cameras
- Radios
- VCRs, DVD players, MP3 and CD players
Besides offering superior customer service and competitive pricing, Junk King of Long Beach is also proud to say that 60 percent of all the trash items that we pick up are either donated, reused, or recycled. We have developed an extensive network of relationships with recycling centers, thrift stores, donation organizations, and others in the region who play a fundamental role in ensuring that your waste gets diverted from the landfill. In the specific case of e-waste items, our landfill diversion rate approaches 100 percent!
How to Hire Junk King of Long Beach?
Doing the right thing shouldn’t be hard to achieve. If you live in the Long Beach area and need to get rid of your e-waste items, just give us a call at (925) 289-8511 or 1-888-888-5865 (JUNK). You can also book us online by filling out the form found here. Lastly, you can text us an image of the junk that you need hauled away at 1-737-888-5865 and we will text you back a price estimate.
Once you have agreed to the price we send back to you, you simply have to pick a date and a two-hour window. In many cases, we might even be able to offer same-day service. Our junk removal professionals will call you 15 minutes before arrival, and all you have to do is show us the location of the junk you need removed. We will do all the heavy lifting hauling to ensure that you can efficiently and affordably free up space in your home or business.
