A COMPARISON OF REFURBISHING VS. RECYCLING

The following table compares the environmental benefits of refurbishing vs. recycling 100 computers with CRT monitors. The savings are compared to disposing of the equipment in a landfill. This example was prepared using the United States Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator.

  100 COMPUTERS RECYCLED 100 COMPUTERS REFURBISHED
Energy Savings Saves enough electricity to power 2.75 U.S. households per year Saves enough electricity to power 68.00 U.S. households per year
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Equal to removing 1.95 passenger cars from the road per year Equal to removing 48 passenger cars from the road per year
Solid Waste Reduction Removes the equivalent of solid waste generated by 1.8 households per year
Primary Material Savings Saves the equivalent weight of 27 refrigerators
Hazardous Waste Reduction Reduces hazardous waste by the weight of 720 bricks
Toxic Material Reduction - Including Mercury Reduces toxic materials waste by the weight of 3.97 bricks
Toxic Material Reduction - Mercury Only Reduces the amount of mercury in fewer than 0.01 mercury thermometers
Air Emissions Reduces air emissions by 129 metric tons (142.2 U.S. tons) Reduces air emissions by 3,183 metric tons (3,508.66 U.S. tons)
Water Emissions Reduces water emissions by 0.27 metric tons (0.3 U.S. tons Reduces water emissions by 6.66 metric tons (7.43 U.S. tons)
Replacement Cost Savings $2,708 $66,801

(http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/ccpt/eebc/eebc)
Note: These may be proportionally greater than other metrics, as they include all material inputs, including those from upstream processes. These estimates do not account for impacts from product/material substitutions that might replace restricted materials.