R
That's not how responsible, certified, and audited processors manage their downstreams - speaking from first-hand experience.
My point is that people should dispose of electronics responsibly and not implicitly normalize illegal dumping. The fact that not all disposal is handled responsibly doesn't contradict my point, it underscores it.
Nothing of value (including waste disposal) is truly free. People pay to dispose of their trash, maybe not when they're walking down the street but certainly at home, although the cost may not be paid directly.
If by "free" you mean taxpayer-funded, I have seen some of that when I worked at a company that accepted consumer electronics, but it was *very* limited in scope (basically, residents of one county could drop off their electronics for free, anyone else would pay by the pound - yet still typically at a loss or break-even for the company).
The cost could be made invisible to the consumer like for bottle returns - the cost is built into the product purchase price. Not free but feels like it. Recycling electronics is generally not a profitable venture, so it must be financially supported by others (e.g., governments (taxpayers) & electronics manufacturers subsidize a lot of it).
I suppose it depends a lot on where you are and what organizations are available.
As someone who has worked in electronics recycling and ITAD for over 8 years, I can promise that none of the companies I've worked for ever intentionally dumped electronics in an inappropriate way. Instead, we are extremely careful to avoid even accidentally letting electronics get mixed in with the landfill-bound solid waste (plastic packaging, etc.).
Regardless, my point is strictly about how e-waste disposal is discussed by people who know it should not go to a landfill. I fully realize that much of it does - but this problem is not helped by people treating that like it's normal when they know it's wrong.
I understand it's still common. I've been working in electronics recycling & ITAD for over 8 years, working my way up from the production floor (sorting belt) to management. I'm familiar with the industry and how businesses and consumers dispose of their technology.
The more people treat "landfill" as normal for electronics disposal, the more it will continue. That's why I want people to stop saying it when they know better, because saying it to someone who doesn't know better perpetuates the problem.
Please don't refer to electronics going to a landfill just to make a point about disposable technology.
This phrase normalizes the idea of landfilling obsolete/unwanted electronics. That is NOT the correct disposal method, anywhere, for electronics or electrical gear.
Even if you already know this, using "landfill" in place of "e-waste bin" paints a very different picture in the mind of your reader/audience, and you can't know what they do or don't know.
Normalize correct disposal of obsolete (or unwanted) technology. Please.
