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MARQUETTE CO. -- E-Waste, or Electronic Waste, refers to electronic products that have met the end of their useful life.  It includes, but isn't limited to, computers, televisions, monitors, and cell phones.

According to U.S.A. Today, the E.P.A. estimates that as much as 80 percent of electronic waste goes out with the trash, while only about 20 percent is properly recycled.

Improper disposal of electronics has become a major problem for our nation's waste industry.  But what is perhaps most alarming is where these outdated and unused electronics are ending up: overseas.

"It's very important that your material goes to the right spot, because the low cost option for electronic disposal is sometimes very bad for the environment," explains Rick Aho, Director of the Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority.  "It's shipped to a Third World country and dumped, and that's happening quite a bit."

We found images of dump sites in Africa and Asia.  And while we don't know specifically of any E-Waste dumps here locally, that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Sharon Farrell commented on our Facebook page:  "Increasingly, we find items such as these in the woods because people don't know how to dispose of them or don't want to pay to dispose of them."

For those that don't know how to dispose of E-Waste, it's actually pretty simple.

Michigan is one of the few states that has a law requiring companies that sell or manufacture electronics to also collect them once they're broken or no longer used.  In Marquette County, American, Best Buy, Goodwill, and Radio Shack all have different requirements for what they will collect.

And for those that don't want to pay?  Good news, you shouldn't have to.

"It's built into the cost of purchasing a new piece of equipment, so in the state of Michigan, if you want to sell a piece of equipment, you have to take back the old ones.  That's the way the system is set up," Aho adds.

And what if you don't live in or near Marquette County.  How do you dispose of your E-Waste?

This is a link to the Department of Environmental Quality, which outlines specific E-Waste takeback programs for each electronic brand.  There's also tips for management of households or communities.

Without the resources, properly disposing of E-Waste in the majority of the U.P. is not something that's easily done.