So how bad is throwing away your printer, anyway?

According to CRUSA, electronics-filled dumps are leaching toxic materials into the water table. Green Star takes it one step further by letting me know that many members of the electronics family--including televisions, computers, monitors, and yes, printers--are potent enough to qualify as hazardous waste. Do I really need my dysfunctional printer coming back as the Toxic Avenger?

As if that isn't enough to lose sleep over, an article in the Washington Post gives me some truly horrifying statisics:

. Two (2) million tons of electronics are landfilled each year.

. Forty (40) million computer monitors and TVs will become obsolete in the U.S. this year.

. Two hundred fifty (250) million computers will become obsolete in the next five years.

. By 2006, it is estimated that 163,420 computers and televisions (3,513 tons) will become obsolete every DAY.

. One hundred thirty (130) million cell phones will be obsolete by 2005.

. Currently, more than 50% of U.S. households own a computer, and many upgrade every 3 to 5 years.

In the U.S., 128 million people use cell phones, upgrading their phones, on average, every 18 months.

Now, even if I were able to forget any of that information, or to justify throwing my printer away by taking the whole "I'm just one little person with one little gadget" tact, the Post goes on to break down what's in a single computer by percentage (Plastics (23%), iron (20%), aluminum (14%), copper (7%), lead (6%), this list goes on...) The average well-intentioned person cannot possibly read this without reflection on their own horror (25%), sadness (23%) fear of the future (14%) and desire to change it (38%). So what next?