Recycling is the best way to dispose of electronics at the end of their useful life, and offers benefits across the triple bottom line. This module outlines these benefits. Proper recycling of e-waste has environmental benefits: it conserves energy, materials and landfill space. Some electronics contain toxic substances – such as lead and mercury – which are hazardous to human health and safety, and ecosystems (the Electronics Toxics Calculator helps compute potential toxics contained in your electronics). Recycling reduces these risks and promotes environmental justice, particularly in non-OECD countries. Electronics recycling and remanufacturing also creates jobs and economic development opportunities. Strategies for managing data security during recycling are discussed on the Recycling and Security page.