The dead gadget glutton

Our toys and devices are amazing — until they’re obsolete. That’s bad news for the planet, but good news for Electronic Recyclers International, a $50-million-in-revenue company that expects sales to double by 2012. Fresno-based ERI partners with the likes of Samsung and Best Buy (BBY) and is the largest electronics recycler in the U.S.

Bobcat operator Frank Giannandrea scoops up e-waste, which he’ll dump into the shredder at the Electronic Recyclers facility in Fresno.

By the numbers:

• 206 Million computer products and 140 million phones are discarded in the U.S. every year. Worldwide, annual electronic waste is 50 million tons.
• 70% of the heavy metals in U.S. landfills come from our outdated electronics and include toxins like lead and mercury. Only 15% to 20% of our gadgets are recycled.
• 23 states now have an electronics recycling law on the books, but regulations are inconsistent. Other states have funded voluntary recycling projects.

Source: Fortune
By Katie Benner, writer
Photo by Gregg Segal