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4/10/06

Orlando Sentinel : Garbage goes high-tech - by Wes Smith

For the full report go to Orlando Sentinel or click on this link

Garbage goes high-tech-by Wes Smith

In Central Florida, even garbage is a growth industry.Take the "e-waste" phenomenon. Rapidly advancing technology makes our high-tech tools and toys obsolete faster than ever before, adding new layers of complexity to the trash pile, said biochemist David Gregory, solid-waste manager for Seminole County. In fiscal year 2001, Seminole County didn't bother to count the few computers residents had tossed out. Last year, however, more than 4,000 personal computers were junked, adding 88,868 pounds -- and untold gigabytes -- to the scrap heap. Orange County residents deleted an additional 89,000 pounds of computers last year. The new wave of trash, also known in the industry as "e-scrap," includes laptops, computer keyboards and mice, cell phones and remote controls -- most of which contain lead and other heavy metals considered potentially hazardous.,Television sets, which average 5 pounds of lead each, also are being dumped as consumers replace them with plasma and high-definition models.As with tires, paper and plastics, aggressive recycling of e-waste helps extend the lives of landfills as the population grows.

The average person generates 4.4 pounds of garbage a day, and that is expected to grow. But even at that rate, the region will produce nearly 31 million pounds of daily refuse by 2050.

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