Most businesses understand the need to recycle paper or plastic products — indeed, many companies keep recycling bins around the office to encourage this practice among their employees. But have you ever considered the importance of recycling your electronics? Printers, laptops, and other office supplies don’t last forever. Rather than sending them to a landfill, you should call a company who recycles electronics in Montreal. Here’s why.

Why Should You Recycle Electronics?

Computer products contain a wide variety of metals that can prove harmful to the environment — perhaps most notably, mercury and lead. The batteries used to power these electronic devices can also prove problematic, as the lithium found in lithium-ion batteries have also been found to be harmful to human health and the environment as a whole.

When these electronic items are sent to the landfill, they will gradually corrode and deteriorate over time. As a result, the metals contained within these products are able to leach into the surrounding soil. This can cause these harmful materials to eventually seep into the water supply, where they can result in significant harm.

The process of manufacturing new electronic products such as laptops also requires a lot of material use. By recycling older electronics, the reusable materials found within these devices can go toward making new products, reducing material consumption and energy use.

Which Products Can Be Recycled?

Pretty much every electronic product that you find around the office can be recycled. This includes desktop and laptop computers, televisions, and printers and photocopiers. Plastic and metal materials, as well as wiring, can often be melted down to be reused in the manufacture of newer equipment.

You can take these electronic products to a specialized drop-off facility or make arrangements with a recycling company to pick up recyclable electronics from your office.

When recycling or donating computer equipment, you must be mindful of data security. Start by creating a backup of your files on an external hard drive or by using cloud storage. You will need to de-authorize any apps or software that were installed on the device, and then reset the hard drive. This will wipe all files from your computer so that confidential information doesn’t get into the wrong hands.

Conclusion

You can do more to recycle than you might think. While electronic equipment that is still functional could also be donated, don’t give in to the temptation to simply throw away electronics that no longer work. By choosing to recycle, you can lessen the potential environmental harm caused by excessive waste and protect our planet.