American Expatriate Costa Rica

Electronic waste: dangerous enemy

If you’ve ever had to walk through the Greater Metropolitan Area, it’s very likely that you’ve run into garbage or improperly discarded electronic items on public roads. This represents a serious health problem, since most electronic devices have toxic substances that not only harm the environment, but also cause serious effects on people’s health.

Zinc, cadmium, lead, and other toxic chemicals could become enemies if you do not properly dispose of your equipment in poor condition such as: televisions, batteries, fluorescents, cell phones and computers.

According to José Domenech, from Recicladora Solirsa, one of the first steps that people must follow is to differentiate and separate the waste and then go to the marketers authorized by the Ministry of Health.

There are campaigns like the Ambientados. They recycle and have a couple of sites where they recycle for free. Solirsa, as part of corporate social responsibility, is participating in this campaign by receiving equipment from people, not companies, and can take them free of charge to these sites, the first Thursday and Friday of each month,”

noted José Domenech.

According to Domenech, the chemicals that sprout from electronic equipment have serious health consequences, such as alterations in the nervous system, cancer and problems in the immune system.

On the other hand, pregnant women, babies and children are the sectors of the population most vulnerable to these chemicals.

If you need to recycle electronic devices, call 2296-0086.

crhoy.com