How to Safely and Securely Dispose of Old Laptops
Getting rid of old laptops can certainly be a challenge for consumers in the United States, and even more so for businesses that continually dispose of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of old laptops every year.
Old laptops are considered to be electronic waste (e-waste) and cannot be disposed of along with household trash and garbage and many states (25 as of 2023) have imposed bans on improper disposal of e-waste, which further stresses the need for safe and secure laptop disposal.
Improper Disposal of Old Laptops
Data from the EPA shows that over 2.7 million tons of e-waste were generated in the United States in 2018 (latest recorded year). In all likelihood, the amount of e-waste has risen sharply since then, with some estimates from 2020 as high as 54 million tons. It’s also important to consider that an estimated 40-50% of e-waste is exported internationally. While this data does aggregate all consumer electronics, laptops certainly contribute to the rise in e-waste in the United States.
Improper laptop disposal poses all sorts of threats to the environment, since they tend to contain all sorts of rare earth minerals such as cadmium, lead and mercury which leach into ground soils and pollute the environment.
