User:Hacmieu293/sandbox

=== What Is E-Waste? And why people need to reduce E-waste? === E-waste is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life." Computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are popular electronic products. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. As technology evolves and keeps improving our electronics, giving us incentives to get rid of our current models for the newest one, there’s been a tendency to just throw away these products. This has created a serious global e-waste problem. Reducing e-waste isn’t just about eliminating those environmental risks. Minimizing e-waste also helps us to conserve resources and reduces the amount of energy we need to make these products; recycling parts within e-waste uses considerably less energy than creating new ones. === E-Waste's Impact on the Environment === 1. Air Pollution: Burning of wires release hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. 2. Water Pollution: Electronic devices contain toxic metals like mercury, lead and lithium, which when disposed of improperly, mixes with ponds, lakes and groundwater. Communities that directly depend on these sources of water then consume it unknowingly. These heavy metals are hazardous for all forms of living beings. 3. Soil Pollution: These heavy metals enter the food chain as they are absorbed by plants from the soil. These metals not only destroy the plants, but also are then consumed by other living beings, leading to a poisonous food chain === How to reduce it? 1. Donate old Electronics: Donating electronics to the needy is also a practice followed by many. It not only gives the gadget a new life, but also makes you feel good about yourself. If you decide to donate your old electronic devices when you don’t need them anymore, make sure to clear any information (like data in your laptop hard drive) before you donate it. To learn more about donating gadgets safely and correctly, check out this EPA guide on donating and recycling electronics. 2. Recycle and Dispose of E-Waste Properly: Improperly disposed e-waste is becoming more and more hazardous, especially as the sheer volume of our e-waste increases. For this reason, large brands like Apple, Samsung, and other companies have started giving options to its customers to recycle old electronics. Sometimes, you may even get financial compensation for recycling your old devices! Recycling old electronics allows the expensive electronic parts inside to be reused. This can save a lot of energy and reduce the need for mining of new raw resources, or manufacturing new parts. You can find electronic recycling programs in your local area by doing a Google search for “recycle electronics” and your city or area name. 3. Repurpose or Re-evaluate: Always think twice before upgrading or buying a new electronic device: 3.1 Do you really need this new device? 3.2 Is it a need, or more of a want? 3.3 Will it add value to your personal or professional life in any way? If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, then it might be best to re-evaluate your thoughts, and avoid buying it. To add on to this, you can repurpose old electronics that aren’t useful anymore for their intended use. For example: An old mobile phone can work as an mp3 player or even as a GPS device. Don’t throw it away, think wisely! 4. Store Data Online: Cloud services are much better than you would think in reducing your environmental impact. By storing data online, you get to access your data from anywhere around the world, without the need to carry a storage device at all times. Cloud storage also gives you a large amount of storage, for free or for very cheap. This not only offers convenience to you, but reduces the need for manufacturing of new storage devices. This indirectly reduces your carbon footprint and curbs the amount of generated e-waste. 5. Learn to Repair Broken Electronics at Home: Some brands of modern electronic devices are only meant to last for a few years under regular use before failing. However, along with maintaining your electronic devices by cleaning them regularly to help them last for longer, you could also learn how to fix hardware problems on your device. Online sites such as iFixit provide free, step-by-step guides for fixing common issues across hundreds of different device models, along with pictures of the device and of the required tools for each repair job. Nowadays, there are also many Youtube videos teaching you how to fix a broken laptop or do a phone screen replacement yourself. Many times, all it takes is a bit of time and patience before your gadget is good as new! 6. Educate and Organize: Now that you are a residential expert on E-waste, educate your neighbors and local businesses about pro recycling. By getting these electronics back into the recycling stream you can reduce the load on the mining, processing, manufacturing, and transport industries–in turn, reducing pollution. Not to mention, organizing a local drive to clean out old electronics can make a trip to the local recycling center much more economical. For those in the San Francisco Bay area, Green Citizen.com organizes pickups; the company also offers mail-in programs for those who don’t.