What began as America Recycles Day is now America Recycles Month. Now we have a full month dedicated to recognizing the environmental, energy and economic benefits of recycling. Recycling has been an essential part of America’s waste management system for over 35 years. Ninety-four percent of the country now has access to curbside pickup or drop-off programs. Yet despite this widespread access, our national recycling rate has been stuck at 34% since 2017. That stagnation underscores the importance of awareness days like ARD and International E-Waste Day, which took place just last month.
The Fastest-Growing Waste Stream: E-Waste
When we think of recycling, most of us picture bottles, cans and paper — not the old laptops, phones, and chargers sitting in drawers or unused office spaces. But e-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, increasing by 3–4% every year according to the Global E-Waste Monitor.
Data Security and Safety Risks of Idle Electronics
Stored electronics can easily become targets for theft, especially smaller items like smartphones. Beyond the cost of the device, the real risk lies in the data they may still contain — personal passwords, business credentials, and proprietary information. A single oversight could result in a data breach, loss of trust, or even legal penalties.
There’s also a physical safety concern. Many electronics contain lithium-ion batteries, which degrade over time and can spontaneously combust. In partially occupied offices, a small battery fire could go unnoticed until it’s too late. Proper recycling and disposal eliminate these hazards — and free up valuable space while ensuring safety and compliance.
The Environmental Cost of Improper Disposal
Though e-waste represents only 2% of the total waste stream, it accounts for over 70% of the heavy metals in landfills. Electronics contain materials such as lead, mercury, and flame retardants that leach into soil and water, harming ecosystems and human health. And the impact starts long before disposal: manufacturing electronics is resource-intensive. Producing a single 2-gram microchip requires 3.7 pounds of fossil fuels and chemicals and 70.5 pounds of water. Roughly 85% of a smartphone’s greenhouse gas emissions come from its production, not its use.
Every time we reuse or recycle electronics, we reduce the need for new resource extraction — and shrink the carbon footprint of future technology.
The Hidden Value in Recycling Electronics
Recycling electronics isn’t just about avoiding harm — it’s about recovering value. Devices contain precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum, as well as rare earth elements such as cobalt, lithium, and neodymium — all critical to modern technology and renewable energy systems. Recovering these materials conserves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the e-waste produced in the U.S. in 2019 contained $7.49 billion in recoverable materials. The recycling industry also boosts local economies — according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates six times more jobs than sending it to a landfill.
What to Look for in a Responsible ITAD Partner
If your business has a backlog of obsolete or surplus electronics, partnering with a certified ITAD (Information Technology Asset Disposal) firm ensures secure, compliant, and sustainable disposal.
Certification
Look for R2V3 certification, managed by Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI). This standard ensures data destruction, environmental stewardship, and ongoing third-party audits.
Options
Choose a partner offering flexible solutions — from certified data wiping and refurbishment to off-site or on-site shredding. At Electronics Value Recovery (EVR), we tailor our services to each client’s security and sustainability needs, providing Certificates of Recycling and Destruction for every project.
Partnership
Building trust matters. Many projects require multiple visits and collaboration. At EVR, we emphasize people and fun, fostering teamwork and transparency while helping clients achieve their environmental and data security goals.
Take Action This America Recycles Day
Don’t wait for another year to pass — use America Recycles Day as your call to action. Use this opportunity to inventory and clear out surplus and obsolete devices. And most importantly, choose a certified ITAD partner to ensure that your equipment — and the data it contains — is handled responsibly and sustainably.
Together, we can retrieve, refurbish and recycle — protecting our planet, our data, and our future.