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NO TIME TO WASTE
E-waste." It’s a cute nickname. But what it refers to—growing piles of outmoded electronic and computer equipment in need of disposal—is anything but cute.

Four members of the U.S. House of Representatives are setting their sights on finding solutions to the growing problem of electronic waste in the United States with the formation of the bipartisan Congressional E-Waste Working Group earlier this spring.

"Today, the average life span of a computer is only two years and Americans are disposing of 3,000 tons of computers each day," said working group member Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) in a statement. "Many people are unaware of how to properly dispose of outdated electronics, so they hold on to them, taking up space in homes and businesses. Our working group will meet on a regular basis to investigate possible solutions to this problem."

In addition to exploring ways to improve the efficiency of the recycling and disposal processes for e-waste, the working group will educate members of Congress about the impact of electronic waste on the environment and the economy.

More than 50 million computers are disposed of each year, all containing harmful elements such as lead, cadmium and mercury, according to a statement from the working group. In addition, the number of electronic components entering the waste stream in the United States has increased by more than 10 million units annually since 2000. Some 400 million computers will be replaced during the next three years, according to information technology research and analysis firm Gartner Inc.

"E-waste is a national problem that needs a national solution," said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.), another member of the working group. "As we continue to dispose of more and more units each year, finding a national disposal approach becomes more and more critical. We can no longer afford to ignore this growing problem."

Earlier this year, online auction house eBay teamed up with computer industry partners and government and advocacy agencies such as the U.S. Posal Service and the March of Dimes to launch the Rethink Initiative, a project whose aim is to "apply some fresh thinking to the problem of e-waste."

On the Rethink Initiative home page, at "http://pages.ebay.com/rethink", you’ll find a compilation of information about how to sell, donate or recycle your old electronic equipment. Resources include a list of nonprofit organizations that accept computer equipment donations, tools to determine the value of your outdated computers and mobile telephones and a directory of "responsible recyclers" that handle electronic waste.

Keep in mind that if you’re planning to donate computer equipment that will be reused, you should take the time to clean off any data you do not want others to see. Because the "delete" functions in most operating systems do not actually remove data but just mark the segments of data as available for overwriting, you will need to take additional steps to ensure that all the data are completely removed.

The Rethink Initiative Web site offers tools for safely removing data from computers or telephones slated for donation. For more options, search the Internet software library at "www.tucows.com" for "disk cleaners."

Reported by Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, "hoylej{at}ada.org".

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