Electronic Waste
Electronic products constitute one of the fastest growing sources of consumer and commercial waste , and will undoubtedly be found in the dental office . Many consumer electronic products contain heavy metals such as lead , cadmium and mercury , as well as other materials that are best kept out of the environment .
In 2010 , Pennsylvania passed the Covered Device Recycling Act which established requirements for the disposal of certain covered electronic devices . According to the act the following devices may not be disposed of as municipal solid waste :
• Desktop and laptop computers
• Computer monitors
• Computer peripherals
• Tablets
• Televisions
• E-Readers ( with a browser and internet connectivity )
For more information , visit http :// www . dep . pa . gov / Business / Land / Waste / SolidWaste / HazardousWaste / Household / Pages / Covered-Device-Recycling-Act . aspx
For information about waste haulers that will accept electronics for recycling , please see Appendix B .
Landfills and other solid waste disposal facilities are no longer allowed to accept these devices or their components ; these devices must be recycled .
There are various avenues available to dispose of these electronic devices properly . In addition to waste haulers that are able to recycle these devices , there are a number of collection programs available throughout the state . DEP ’ s website contains more information about locating collection programs in your area : http :// www . dep . pa . gov / Business / Land / Waste / Recycling / Electronics / Pages / ElectronicsCollectionPrograms . aspx or you can call DEP ’ s recycling hotline at 800-346-4242 .
If waste chemicals cannot be poured down the drain , recycled or reused , the waste will need to be tested to determine if it constitutes hazardous waste .
7 PDA Waste Management Guidelines