Why recycle unused computers and related equipment?

Every product that you see in a store represents an investment of resources. Material resources, water and energy are used in the manufacture of most products, including printer cartridges.

The metals used in computers and related products are mined from the earth's crust and the plastics are derived from petroleum. These resources are finite - there are limited amounts of them that can be extracted.

These materials can be recycled into new products. Precious metals, such as lead, aluminium, nickel, mercury, cadium and lithium, are separated and can be recycled again and again. Recycling these materials to make new products often uses less energy and makes better use of our material resources. It also leaves more virgin materials in the ground for future generations.

Monitors and screens have a high lead content. Keyboards, printers, scanners, printed circuit boards and hard drives can also contain a range of chemicals that are harmful to the environment. These materials pose no threat while they are contained within equipment, but if disposed of in landfill could eventually leach into nearby waterways and the environment.

Byteback reduces this risk by ensuring that unwanted computers and related equipment are kept out of landfill and broken down for recycling.

For many people, the first step towards green living at home is recycling bottles and jars. Many individuals have started with recycling and gone on to using less energy and water, using reusable bags instead of plastic shopping bags and buying their electricity from approved 'green power' programs. Similarly, households can start recycling unused and unwanted computers and related equipment just as easily. Other useful strategies include:

• A computer in good condition may be able to be refurbished and upgraded, a great alternative to purchasing new.
• Purchasing new equipment designed with environmental considerations in mind (ie, lower energy usage, reduced toxicity).
• Giving away or donating unwanted computers to friends, schools or neighbours that may want one.

Byteback involves the community in a positive environmental effort. People get the satisfaction of playing an active role in the recycling process by diverting waste away from landfill. They become an important link in the recycling 'loop'.

Programs like Byteback teach industries, businesses and consumers to take responsibility for the waste that they help to produce. Byteback encourages people to think about their unwanted computers and related equipment and what happens to them, and it challenges them to think about the appropriate disposal or recycling of all waste. It also teaches people to think of their unwanted computer equipment as a potential resource instead of 'waste'.