Tip of the hat to the folks over at the National Defense Magazine for posting an intriguing piece about the unappreciated national security benefits of recycling electronic waste.
Scaling up recycling programs for electronic waste – or, e-waste – would protect more than just the environment. It could also protect the U.S. defense system from the potentially grave risks posed by failure-prone counterfeit electronic parts. Counterfeit parts have pervaded the U.S. defense supply chain, according to a report by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
Writing for the National Defense Magazine, Jim Burger, Henry Livingston and Tom Sharpe suggest that ramping up e-waste recycling programs might also rein in counterfeit electronic parts.