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- Why It Is Important To Recycle Cell Phones?
Some of the most toxic products being tossed out as household trash are cell phones and electronic devices. This type of trash is called e-trash, and especially problematic are cell phones.
Cell phones contain a very high level of toxic substances that enter the environment when discarded cell phones are incinerated or when rainwater leaches these chemicals out of the landfills into our drinking water.
Cell phones are known to contain toxins such as antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. These chemicals are listed by the EPA, as persistent toxins (persistent bioaccumulative toxins, PBTS), meaning they do not readily breakdown and remain in the environment for years. Of these metals, lead and cadmium accumulate in both plant and animal tissue, and have been known to be responsible for many disorders in humans.
The dangers of lead has been known for many years. It is thought to be a carcinogen and adversely affects the central nervous system, kidneys, immune system and has been associated with development disorders in children. Lead was banned from paint years ago, and manufacturers are now beginning to eliminate lead from electronic components. Every electronic device contains a circuit board and most often, lead is used to solder components on to these circuit boards.
Another especially toxic component of cell phones is brominated flame retardants. This chemical is added to plastics to reduce the risk of fire. Many components of the cell phone use this chemical. Scientific research has shown that some of these brominated flame retardants are also persistent bioaccumulative and toxic, but it is not know what long term effects this chemical has on humans and the environment.
Some of these flame retardants have been linked to cancer and disturbances in the immune and endocrine systems. When these products are incinerated, they give off highly toxic by- products. As with lead, many manufacturers are eliminating these chemicals from electronic products.
At the time when cell phones first became available to the average consumer, nickel-cadmium was used as a power source. Nickel-cadmium batteries, called Ni-Cds, were the battery of choice because they were rechargeable. The problem is that the metals used in these batteries are highly toxic. Cadmium is a PBT and a probable carcinogen. It has been linked to lung, liver and kidney damage, and has been found to be toxic to wildlife. As with the other toxic chemicals mentioned, cadmium is being eliminated from electronic products by many manufacturers.
The Lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery has typically replaced the Ni-Cds, but they contain their own supply of toxic chemicals.
The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation is a non-profit organization that recycles rechargeable batteries. The program, Call2Recycle, has collected millions of pounds of rechargeable batteries and kept them from the landfills. They are trying to educate people on how easy it is to recycle a rechargeable battery or cell phone in the United States and Canada. A Google search on Call2Recycle will direct you to a recycling center near you. It's free. It's convenient. It's responsible. Unfortunately, few people know about this program, so most cell phones and electronics end up in landfills.
Recycling is not the end all to solve our environmental problems. The recycling program is heavily dependent on consumers. When the economy sags and consumers are not buying, the need for recycled materials sags along with the economy. This became painfully evident with the economic crisis that began in October 2009. Recycling plants across the nation were hit hard. The demand for recycled products needed to manufacture new products was severely curtailed. The price for recycled products in some cases dropped 90% taking away the profit from these recycling facilities.
Our only hope is to make an effort to reuse as many products as we can at home, and to aim for zero waste. If recycling is no longer profitable for companies, we may see a future where we are charged for all the garbage we generate, and at a much higher rate than many of us pay now. Disposing highly toxic chemicals may be very expensive for the consumer.
About the Author
Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer. Visit http://totalrecyclingwebsite.com for news, podcasts, articles and guides covering many aspects of recycling. To understand recycling, read Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Recycling, But Never Dared to Ask. (available on website) - Effective Marketing For The Webmaster
Throughout my experience in Marketing, I have found that simply placing ads in free classified sites, FFA (free for all), and participating in safelists does not work anymore. It used to, but that is not the case any longer. I also have found out that you do not have to pay for any advertising for it to be effective.
The key to "Effective Marketing" is creativity. If you start really thinking about how you might go about promoting your business/website, then you might be surprised at what you come up with. Here are some free methods to get you started. You need to make Google/Yahoo/MSN or any favorite search engine a good friend. Use these to your advantage for finding the following places below.
1) Work At Home/Business Forums or Message Boards:
Find and create accounts at various work at home or business message forums. After creating your account then proceed to create your signature. A signature is a block of text at the end of a message that states your name and your business/website/affiliate program. Please read the posting rules at all forums. Some do not allow signatures...and some do not allow posting your business ad. Always be careful of these rules...you could be banned. Signature advertising in forums/message boards has found to be very effective.
2) Directories:
Find and sign up with various business directories. Add your business/website to them. There are tons of these that do not require a reciprocal link back. You will find the occasional ones that require a fee...just pass those up and go on to the next one, as there are several. For the ones that do require a link back, it is advisable to choose the ones with a high page rank.
3) Link and Banner Exchanging:
There are many, many webmasters that are willing to exchange links/banners with you. This method of advertising is called networking and is really a great free way to promote your business. You can let webmasters know that you would like to exchange links with them through various forums, OR...you can look up websites (that relate to your business), and simply email the webmaster (site owner) and propose that you would like to exchange links or banners. Always keep up with your emails and follow up with a polite reply. You will be pleasantly surprised at the responses you will get.
4) Ezines and Newsletters:
Ezines and newsletters are basically online magazines. You can subscribe to them and enter your ad and affiliate program or website URL. Most of these are free to subscribe to, and also free to enter your ad. These ezines/newsletters have a large membership base. By using this method of advertising, your business/website would reach a large audience.
5) Offline Advertising:
This is where you will use your creativity. There are literally endless offline advertising ideas that you can use. You can make up flyers, business cards, letters, and give them out to friends and relatives. You can post them at grocery stores, laundry mats, department stores, libraries, theatres, schools...basically anywhere where it is allowed.
One example of an idea:
If you are at a theatre...leave some of your business cards in the restroom. You might be surprised at who will look and pick them up. Just use your imagination...have fun and be creative.
6) Articles:
You might try writing some articles that relate to your business or website. Many ezines and newsletters that you subscribe to let you post your written articles. And again, this method would be free of charge. At the end of your article, mention the URL of your business or website.
About the Author
Written by: Tammy Embrich Owner of http://www.onestopwebemployment.com/ and Owner of: http://www.real-wah-jobs.com/ Tammy's two wah sites focus on free work at home job leads. - OMNI Community Credit Union works with local charities
OMNI Community Credit Union, headquartered in Battle Creek, Mich., recently collected over 250 sweaters and coats to help keep West Michigan warm this winter. The sweaters and coats went to the following charities that will disperse them throughout the local communities: The Charitable Union, the Kalamazoo Salvation Army, Three Rivers Area Mentoring, and the St. Joseph County Homeless Shelter.