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Your Laptop's Dirty Little Secret

time.com — But the tech industry has a dirty little secret: it has toxic waste of its own. Phones and computers contain dangerous metals like lead, cadmium and mercury, which can contaminate the air and water when those products are dumped.

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  • SunshineFSU, on 07/05/2008, -2/+24Why can't every component/chemical substance used in each of these devices be extracted and recycled? Is it just because it is cheaper in the short-run to use newly mined ones or what?
    • HotSaucePanCake, on 07/05/2008, -0/+19To produce these products or put them in the form needed for manufacturing other chemicals IE energy must be burned or used.

      You can't create something with one unit of input and expect to produce more than 1 unit of output. In 99.99999% of scenarios perfect efficiency can never be achieved.
      • p3ngwin, on 07/05/2008, -2/+4actually 100% of the time you can not get "perfect efficiency" (which itself is 100%.

        reason being, this universe is of time and energy.

        nothing exists without time and energy. it takes energy to exist and time *for* that energy to exist in.

        no energy can change form with out time and energy, therefore the process itself takes time end energy, so you can never get 100% out of what you put in. there will always be a "loss" because the process used to change the form of energy, takes time and energy.
      • HotSaucePanCake, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1fusion
      • etx313, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2Nerdy Nerd Nerd?

        But seriously good answer, thank you.
    • tacmen, on 07/05/2008, -0/+11Why digg this dude down? He is just trying to learn something. Then someone answers(and a rather intelligent answer it was) and you digg Him up only. Hell I digg you both. I learned something. Thank you!
    • AchaIemoipas, on 07/05/2008, -0/+10They can, people just don't do it. People don't recycle even when the recycling bins are picked up at their house, so going out of their way to recycle anything is not to be expected aside for a few.

      We can't even get people to drop their toxic waste (paint, solvants, etc.) at designated places. They just dump that crap in the sewers.

      In some third world countries people make a living selling the metals contained in electronic parts by scavenging garbage dumps.

      Cell phone recycling in Canada:
      http://www.charitablerecycling.ca/CA/home.asp
      http://www.thinkrecycle.com/



      • renbin, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0Putting it in recycle bins doesn't mean it will be fully recycled. In US, it is simply sorted, dissembled, and exported to poor countries.
    • renbin, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0It can be recycled. And all industrialized nations do the e-waste recycle, except US. US is the only industrialized nation that does not recycle e-waste and allow export of e-waste to poor countries, the only industrialized country that does not fully comply with the Basel Convention (see michaelzhao.net). Because exporting it to China is cheaper than fully recycling it domestically, the problem won't be solved by the industry alone.

      Now, think twice when you criticize the lead level in Chinese-made toys. They could very well come from the e-waste you exported there.
  • deckarddigg, on 07/05/2008, -4/+96Phew...I thought they were talking about the porn!
    • dondara, on 07/05/2008, -1/+4No, that would YOUR dirty little secret.

      But I am not casting stones ...really.
  • minigamer1896, on 07/05/2008, -0/+5This is why I'm recycling the large majority of my e-waste at Free Geek.
    I normally buy used stuff too.
    • HotSaucePanCake, on 07/05/2008, -3/+4Buying used things will save you some money, but it won't help save the environment. When a market for used products is created demand is generated which in turn motivates buyers to buy new and sell the old.

      At the end of the day the earth was a swirling ball of hot goo a little less than a Billion years ago. It doesn't care :)
      • Kumaku, on 07/05/2008, -2/+2I like the warm feeling I got when I saw your smiley at the end.
  • HotSaucePanCake, on 07/05/2008, -2/+23No *****... So do those little eco friendly cars I see racing around the freeway

    Pick your poison
    • norman619, on 07/05/2008, -1/+5exactly. This is what is coming when we start buying those electric cars en mass the environmentalists have been demanding. Just take what they said in this article about laptops and multiply it for the cars. Sure these cars will cut down on emissions but they will pollute in other and possibly worse ways. These people like to make demands but rarely bother to look at the down sides.
  • HotSaucePanCake, on 07/05/2008, -0/+42I think the Dirty Little Secret here is that after a year your laptop will only hold half of the charge it held a year before...
    • BobMysterioso, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4I find if you're smart about charge/discharge of the laptop and don't leave it plugged in 24x7 with the battery attached, it normally lasts longer than that. Not always.. and sometimes they explode.
      • ExRe, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2Not really.

        The main thing about Lithium Ion batteries is you do NOT want to discharge it completely. You do want to recharge it as soon as you can for as much as you can.

        If your average temperature is 75-80F, and you keep it at 100% charge for a year you will lose about 20% capacity.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion#Guideline ...
      • tehknotte, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1ExRe is 20% capacity loss normal?
  • Lordy1952, on 07/05/2008, -7/+19I thought this is about porn on my computer=)
  • DiggityDugged, on 07/05/2008, -6/+1nice new digg avatar
  • cabdirazzaq, on 07/05/2008, -6/+1Some people call it contamination, I chose to call it love.
  • blanketfury, on 07/05/2008, -7/+1I will only recycle if Al Gore tells me to
  • kenvsryu, on 07/05/2008, -7/+1I have no porn on my computer.
  • RadonPL, on 07/05/2008, -5/+5Burried.

    In the EU we have RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive which prevents any consumer products with significant amounts of "lead, cadmium and mercury" etc from being sold.
    • dreambucket, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3This is true - and by extension, a lot of products sold in the US are RoHS compliant as well since China and California have also enacted similar laws.
      • BobMysterioso, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3Lately all the processors (AMD varieties) and motherboards (Gigabyte) have RoHS stamps on them.

        Now my ailing 7 year old 32" HD CRT.. that has *a lot* of bad stuff in it no doubt. I'll pay to have it recycled when the time comes.
  • PCNewGuy, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4Number of recyclers - in GA, USA try www.touchthefuture.us - refurbishes PC/Laptops for people with disabilities. Uses an EPA certified (with all those ISO numbers) recycler to dispose of everything else
  • DroogInPhoenix, on 07/05/2008, -4/+29I am 37, over the years, all we hear about is the things that are bad for you to eat (the next week it turns out it is good for you)... Now it is the technology we use... By trying to make me so scared of all the bad things in life, I have come to the conclusion I really do not give a *****.
    • blanketfury, on 07/05/2008, -12/+1You are kinda old
      • Papajohn56, on 07/05/2008, -0/+12and you're kind of a moron if you think 37 is old.
      • blanketfury, on 07/05/2008, -11/+1Don't you have some pizza to deliver?
      • norman619, on 07/05/2008, -0/+11You demonstrated the ignorance of youth beautifully. Thanks.
      • blanketfury, on 07/05/2008, -6/+0Norman sounds like an old name
    • petemcfraser, on 07/05/2008, -3/+2 "I'm 37."
      "What?"
      "I'm 37. I'm not old."
      "Well I can''t just call you 'man.'"
    • petemcfraser, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1Wouldn't know a Monty Python quote it if bit you in the face.
  • Papajohn56, on 07/05/2008, -7/+2Hey, Macbook Pros use LEDs rather than fluorescents. Improves battery life and no mercury.
    • fuzzlog, on 07/05/2008, -3/+1not sure about the battery life though.
      • wobegon, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1what about the battery life are you "not sure" about?
      • fuzzlog, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I meant I am not sure that battery life is improved because the screen is lit with LEDs. I have a MBP and I cannot say the battery life is dramatically longer than if it had been lit with fluorescent. I have an old toshiba laptop that had the same pattern in battery degradation over time.
  • duffy89, on 07/05/2008, -3/+1This can only get worse with the continual advancement of technology. This should be the stuff that is recycled and used for the "3rd World" people.
  • Murdats, on 07/05/2008, -1/+5this isnt a secret, and its encouraged that you recycle things like this, Don't sony collect old tv's for free for this purpose?
    just because people dont bother to remember something that isnt shouted at them 500 times doesnt make it a secret.
  • MrCocktoasten, on 07/05/2008, -2/+11I study these pollutants in people from SE Asia, mainly Vietnam, and India (China won't let us in). It's true, and this has been going on a long time, but even more since the rise in gold (and electronics). Most of these people who live at the dump sites have very high levels of heavy metals but also organochlorines (persistent organic pollutants), which among other things can cause cancer.

    Before reading below I want you to know that you should not be overly-worried about what I have to say; concerned and informed, yes, but don't freak-out (I hate it when people over-sensationalize, I prefer to inform and let you decide). In terms of pollution in developed countries (e.g. US, Japan, most of Europe) we are experiencing different kinds of pollutants that come from daily use of plastics and other synthetics found in clothes, car apoulstry, etc. Especially in the US, we make everything 'fire-resistant' from clothes to the interior of cars (that new car smell is more than you think). This is done with a group of highly-stable compounds called brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and they are being so heavily used we are finding them in breast milk from people all over the world, and even in the Antarctic (in ice). More recently we compared breast milk from women in the US, Japan, SE Asia, India and around Europe and found American's have over well over 30x the level of BFR's compared to most Asians (even Japan), and only slightly higher than Europeans. BFRs are finally being given the concern they deserve and there is a push to have these banned in indu
    stry.

    What can BFRs do? How bad are they?? We don't really know yet. They are toxic to aquatic animals. In humans it is thought BFRs may cause hormonal disorders or even cancer in high amounts but the data is still sketchy. So don't be worried because it may not be much of a problem in the current amounts found in humans, but if this is continued to be used there may be 'issues'.
    • antechinus, on 07/05/2008, -5/+2I reckon you are a ***** artist. Oh and did you know that upholstery is not spelled "apoulstry".
      • MrCocktoasten, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Yeah, out of all the more exciting things on digg I could ***** about I decided on this :/
        But thanks for correcting my 'upholstery' error o(>_
    • norman619, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2"Most of these people who live at the dump sites have very high levels of heavy metals but also organochlorines (persistent organic pollutants), which among other things can cause cancer. "

      Anything can cause cancer or hurt you in high enough quantities. Hell drink too much water and you will die. Not can die but WILL die. Why do you guys say these things "can" cause this or that and not say these things will cause cancer? There is a real reason for the use of can instead of will or do.
    • Albumen, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3"More recently we compared breast milk from women in the US, Japan, SE Asia, India and around Europe..."

      How can I get a job doing this?
  • zoomtechtv, on 07/05/2008, -0/+7I'm keeping my old computers. I'm geek.
  • EEdesigner, on 07/05/2008, -12/+1Lessee...our 6+ year old Apple serves as my recording room computer. My 4+ year MacBook ws sold to a friend for over 1/2 of it's original purchase price. My new Ibook will last for as long or longer. Same for my wife's Imac. However, I did junk virtually all of my Microsoft computers (junk is as junk does). Perhaps there's a trend here.......
    • BobMysterioso, on 07/05/2008, -0/+8a troll trend?
    • norman619, on 07/05/2008, -0/+6Only a Mac fanboy would see this as a great opportunity to brag about his love affair with Apple computers and show his ignorance at the same time. Microsoft does not make computers. They are a software company and just recently a game console company.
    • jstem1994, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2The Fanboy Trend. Microsoft computers.... that's funny.
  • macmangb, on 07/05/2008, -8/+1Macs generally last long have a high resale value and thus passes through many hands before going in the tip, so it is more environmentally friendly than PCs which breakdown every 3 or 4 years and need to be thrown out.
    • Rioracer916, on 07/05/2008, -1/+4Yeah, except, Apple is in the business of marketing an image, then hardware. When the new Macbook Pros roll around and makes the old ones look inferior, the image conscious shopper will naturally dump their machine.

    • Dgen_X, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1It's not so much the PCs fault, it's that 70% or so of computer users that should not be owning computers. People who ask questions like "I need an anti virus program?" and wonder why their computer runs slow.

      And I don't want to hear any virus comments from the OS X users...
      • tehAleksandrRox, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1dont got any viruses because they're suffering enough already
  • Llanowar, on 07/05/2008, -0/+8In all honesty, you have to be quite ignorant not to know that electronic devices are everything but clean.
    • BobMysterioso, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2but they taste so darn good! I can't help myself.

      old 486 processor.. NOM NOM NOM
    • norman619, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2Enter the environmentalists. They rarely know how the things they are demanding will negatively impact the environment or people.
  • marjo9, on 07/05/2008, -1/+16***** off with the high and mighty mac comments. until their laptops are made out of ***** wheat thins theyre in the same boat as every other computer manufacturer
  • pjr12345, on 07/05/2008, -2/+2It's a horrible world! Everything is bad... really bad! We're all gonna die, and the planet with us! We're such bad creatures! The world would be better off without us!

    Get real whiners. The world is here for us to steward and exploit for our benefit.
    • Albumen, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Steward AND exploit. Interesting combo. Never mind that they are almost opposites.

      In addition, where does this certainty about our roll come from? Have you been talking to the Beyonder?
      • pjr12345, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1You need to go look up the meaning of the word "exploit". It doesn't have to be a bad thing.
  • JoeViturbo, on 07/05/2008, -2/+1Buried for "Not News", Fear-Mongering. I'll agree that pollution is bad but everybody knows throwing your electronic devices away, instead of recycling them, is a bad idea
  • aserer511, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1sad, but what can you do? even if you donate an aold pc it WILL have a shelf life that ends eventually...
  • cactus476, on 07/05/2008, -2/+1Ya.... China doesn't legally accept our scrap any more. A few years back, China band all computer scrap imports. That ban was removed recently and they are now up to par, with the EPA (not that they are good for much), as far as what scrap they will accept.

    www.BytesED.org
  • mstrebe, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3Jesus Christ, when is Digg going to separate Environment from Science?
  • andretii, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2We find this after 30 years of using them and dumping them.
  • senatorpjt, on 07/05/2008, -2/+2So what.
  • wobegon, on 07/05/2008, -2/+2I'm going to bet they slander Apple and, more specifically, the iPhone in this article.

    Let's see if I'm right...*reads article*

    "If we could see the dumps of Guiyu, we might rethink the purchase of that new iPhone."

    Big surprise. Just like Greenpeace puts Dell and HP at the top and Apple at the bottom of their list for not grandstanding about their "green policies," when the competition puts out ewaste.

    Buried.
  • statc, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Am I the only one that found it a little ironic that the guy in the video had a dual screen Dell setup?
  • TheReverendBill, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1My laptop contains lead, and Time magazine contains pinko drivel. The entire industial revolution--and all the technology it has wrought--pretty much sucks.
  • tehbored, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2It's not a secret if everyone already knows.
  • Snarfels, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1My Laptop has more than one dirty little secret.
  • easy4lif, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1to that chinese douche in the video

    its not our fault your country outsourced all of americas jobs. go bitch to your government and see if they care.
  • bincoder, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Just try to place an ad requesting broken laptops, etc for free.
    These things rarely make it to the landfill because people are much too greedy to give away something that has been broken for years and is never going to be repaired or used ever again. They will either expect the full price they paid for it in 1990 when it was new or they will stick it in the closet among the lost socks and suitcases rather than just give it away or even sell it for $20.
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