Because computer technology changes so quickly, the average computer sold in the United States in the early 2000s becomes obsolete in only three years. Consumers were expected to retire about 50 million computers in 2002. One government survey reported that 75% of all the computers ever sold in the United States were stockpiled by 2001, not disposed of even though their useful life is over. Computers and other electronics account for about 220 million tons of waste annually, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Some older computers find new users when they are passed on to nonprofit groups, schools, or needy families. Some manufacturers arrange to take back their out-of-date products. Approximately 10% of outdated computers are recycled.

Computers contain a variety of materials, some of them toxic. If computers are not recycled but disposed of in landfills, valuable material is wasted, and toxins, particularly lead and mercury, may...