Ever thought about the final resting place of your Commodore 64 or Apple IIC? Thanks to a rapidly evolving technology industry that relies on a combination of built-in obsolescence coupled with “the next big thing,” those prehistoric precursors to our modern day machines most likely wound up in a landfill somewhere (unless they’re collecting dust in your parents’ attic) still carrying a bevy of toxic materials like mercury, cadmium and lead to their graves.
As the true environmental and human costs of this electronic waste have come to light in the Western world, we’re witnessing the typical “not in my backyard” [...]