In this new age of technology, many fail to note the environmental hazards of smart phones, computers, and other sleek modern electronics. Mountains of hazardous e-waste is accumulating around the globe and posing as significant health and environmental hazards when not managed responsibly. Electronics often contain varying amounts of toxic mercury, lead, and cadmium. Such toxins bioaccumulate throughout ecosystems and prove detrimental to the reproductive, immune, and nervous systems of various organisms. In addition, people of developing countries often endeavor to take apart such hazardous electronics with little protection in order to get to the gold, copper or other valuable materials within. Evidently, toxic e-waste is a pressing issue with significant consequences unless it is managed and recycled properly.

Currently, there are various ways to recycle e-waste and many innovative methods under development. Some companies have also directed themselves towards the purpose of pickup, sorting, and processing of recycled e-waste. An example of such a company is Cloud Blue in New Jersey, which even offers an on site processing service for customers that are concerned about sensitive and confidential data. Recycling e-waste is an important industry for the environment because it not only prevents the debilitating consequences of toxic electronic waste in landfills, but also reduces the need to extract more of the finite resources that go into manufacturing such electronics.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/23/e-waste_poison_environment_health/