eDumping

[moon]

The work involves men, women and children unaware of the health and environmental hazards of dismantling such goods - processes that include the open burning of plastics and wires, acid used to extract gold, the melting and burning of toxic soldered circuit boards and the cracking and dumping of toxic lead-laden cathode ray tubes.

Already Guiyu has become so polluted that well water is undrinkable and water has to be trucked in for the entire population, the report said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12...1309268,00.html

So far, everything PC related that I've bought is still in use or in the 'obsolete' cupboard. I've revamped about four old PCs for angry pensioners and pointed them in the right directions .:D What else can we do ?

[andsome]

I recently telephoned our local council to get advice on getting rid of an old broken down portable T.V set. The advice was to take it to the local tip and dump it there.

[lester1]

I recently telephoned our local council to get advice on getting rid of an old broken down portable T.V set.  The advice was to take it to the local tip and dump it there.

Me too :blink:

[-pops-]

I don't know if my local tip is exceptional but there they have a number of separate skips for different types of waste - one being computer/electronic equipment. In addition, there are a number of "dealers" there who will sort out potentially saleable items.

I asked site manager once what happens to the electronic waste and was told it goes to toxic waste and precious metal converters for recovery of anything valuable and/or toxic. The residue, which contains a lot of glass, is fused into inert glass beads which are used as packing and ballast in building.

So the taking to the local tip may not be as awful as seems to be suggested.

(As an aside, garden waste is composted and the compost is sold on the site, as is horse and chicken manure.)

[moon]

That's fine on the face of it, but the article points out that such recovery methods aren't largely available here and that our, carefully selected, scrap goes overseas where it becomes a pollutant and health hazard.

[andsome]

In defence of our local authority, we are one of the greenest areas in the country. All our compostable waste is collected fortnightly and composted by the council for sale to the public. Glass, paper cardboard and plastic are all collected for recycling. Well done Lichfield District Council.

[-pops-]

I should have added:

The waste is processed in the UK under controlled conditions that meet EU requirements with minimal environmental impact.

[ranger]

I remember going to the local tip/incinerator with a container of used engine oil thinking that there would be somewhere that it could be recycled/safely disposed off, asked the guy where to put it, reply, just throw it on the rest of the rubbish, I now just put it in the bin as it's going to the same place as the rest of the rubbish

[andsome]

I remember going to the local tip/incinerator with a  container of used engine oil thinking that there would be somewhere that it could be recycled/safely disposed off, asked the guy where to put it, reply, just throw it on the rest of the rubbish, I now just put it in the bin as it's going to the same place as the rest of the rubbish

Our local tip send all oil to be recycled.