Laptop hardware often contains chemical compounds and substances that are quite hazardous. Old laptop parts shouldn’t just be thrown out into landfill, and that’s especially true of batteries and screens. Rain falls on the rubbish tips and percolates down through it, collecting all the nasties along the way. That water either runs off directly or makes its way elsewhere as groundwater. Either way, it’s bad news if there are industrial pollutants in it.
Some laptop parts contain heavy metals, which are very bad news for the environment and have a habit of making their way into the food chain through fish, and thus back to people. Older models may still use a lot of lead acids, for instance.
The most environmentally friendly solution is to find another use for the old laptop screens or other parts, although this is quite a limited option. If that’s not possible, some manufacturers have their own recycling schemes and are happy to take back broken laptop parts. They’ll re-use any components they can and safely dispose of what they can’t. It’s a pretty sound option and only costs you the price of basic postage. To find out if you can do that, look up the UK website for your manufacturer.
Otherwise, your local council will be able to advise you on the best way of disposing of old laptop hardware and electrical items. The wasteonline.org.uk also has a helpful list of what recycling services are available for dead electronics in your area.
When any of your laptop parts start to malfunction and you need a new laptop keyboard or screen, make reliable stockists such as Laptop Power your first port of call.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 11:15 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed.