One of the increasing problems of waste management is how to deal and dispose of e-waste. E-waste, which includes items like computers, mobile phones, printers, and televisions, is rapidly becoming one of the biggest problems for communities aiming to reduce the size of their landfills. The United Kingdom has been particularly ineffective at dealing with e-waste, which has given birth to a score of new businesses, some of which are unethical. According to recent reports some scams have been able to take advantage of businesses which are unsure of how to dispose of e-waste. Much of this e-waste ends up being dumped illegally on developing nations, which generally have laws which are less strict. However, one company in the UK is trying to help reduce e-waste and help developing nations.
The London based charity Computer Aid International has been able to keep around one hundred and fifty thousand computers from reaching landfills. The IT charity then takes the computers and recycles them for use by developing nations. Computer Aid International announced that it was able to keep more than five thousand tonnes of usable computers from reaching landfills. Since technology changes so quickly businesses and individuals are constantly upgrading, which leaves thousands of perfectly good electronic devices either thrown out, or put in a drawer or on a shelf. CAI hopes to take these devices and use them to help the third world.
Studies have shown that reusing a computer is much better for the environment than recycling it for parts. In fact, according to a recent study it is twenty times less damaging to the environment to for electronics to be reused rather than recycled.
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