Metals, polymers, glass, and other precious commodities and materials need energy to mine and produce in order to be used in electronic goods. By recycling or donating consumer electronics, we can protect our environment from greenhouse gas emissions from the production of virgin materials, air and water pollution, and resource depletion.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) calculated in 2006 that:
Recycling a million laptops can save energy equal to that of over 3,500 American houses' annual power consumption.
We can recover 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium for every million cell phones we recycle.
