Although I will be presenting some of this information with my team during DP3 this afternoon, I wanted to share more of the experience of learning about electronic waste dumping and recycling. This project opened my eyes more then any other project this quarter as to how large and dangerous a particular issue is. Since we were studying something as broad as E-waste, obviously the numbers are more powerful then teams focusing on a more specific subject, yet some of the background and details I’ve learned about E-waste was just beyond what I was prepared for.
For our project, we focused on a small group of electronic recyclers called GreenCitizen, located in Los Altos and San Francisco. From what we’ve learned, these guys have really got the right idea as far as how they are handling the recyclables people bring to them. They are one of the few recycling centers that has signed the Electronic Recyclers Pledge of True Stewardship, created by the Basel Action Network to promote proper recycling methods. However, the most powerful thing about this company is the knowledge they offer about just how big the E-Waste crisis is. The walls in the main room of GreenCitizen are covered with powerful images, taken from the Basel Action Network, of huge amounts of trashed electronics that have ended up in developing countries. One particularly painful image shows a small child sitting on top of a huge stack of garbage.
In addition to the photos, powerful statistics and information about what is happening with E-Waste are readily available in an effort to educate the public. One large poster is devoted to showing extra steps GreenCitizen has taken to educate the public outside of their stores through community events.
I was also impressed by how knowledgeable all the workers were at the center. Both times I visited the center to gather information, the two different women behind the desk were very informative and clearly understood the recycling process GreenCitizen and other recyclers were using. One of the workers was even a graduate from Berkeley, not what I would have expected from someone working behind the desk at a recycling center. James Kao, the founder of GreenCitizen was particularly proud of the level of education in his staff. He said that he felt it was important to have the best staff possible since educating the public is such a large part of GreenCitizen’s goal.
The method of educating the public seems to be working. Even though GreenCitizen must charge customers to take many of their recyclables, diligent data logs kept at the center show a 95% satisfaction rate from customers even with most transactions (60%) being paid transactions. Once the public understands the importance of proper recycling steps and that many companies offering to take electronics for free end up dumping the majority of their items (or sending them to developing countries), they are willing to pay the fees for their recyclables and then come back to do it again.
My team and I will be talking more about the process and statistics related with E-waste during our presentation, but I encourage people to check out GreenCitizen and the Basel Action Network and to spread the word.
June 11, 2007 at 10:00 am |
All of the discussion around e-waste in class really increased my awareness of what I do with all of my old electronics, especially as the year (and consequentially my housing) is ending and I’m trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible before moving out. So when I was at the post office the other day, I noticed a little display on the far right corner of the counter that advertised free ink jet cartridge recycling. It basically had a box of little plastic envelopes with pre-paid postage and instructions on how to send your cartridges in.
On the display, there was a reference to an organization called EnviroSmart that seemed to be running this program. There was also a reference to SOAR (Saving of America’s Resources), which is apparently a USPS environmental initiative that’s also somehow affiliated. When I looked up EnviroSmart, they have a bare bones website (http://www.envirosmart.org/), saying that they recycle ink jet cartridges and cell phone free of charge, and mail you a check for the “appropriate amount” if your returns generated over $10. As for what they actually do with the electronics they receive, the vaguely state that they will “remanufacture the ones that are in demand” and “properly dispose of the ones not on our list.” Hmmm. After reading about all of the steps that GreenCitizen takes to recycle e-waste responsibly, I’m wondering how this organization manages to accept all of the recycling for free. Also, does “properly dispose of” mean ship to a developing country?
To make this all a little sketchier, when I looked up the USPS SOAR program, it’s not listed anywhere on the USPS site (or anywhere else on the internet, as far as I can tell, except at a dictionary site dedicated to listing acronyms). The USPS has a whole section of their site on environmental initiatives, but SOAR isn’t mentioned. So the only thing that really points to an affiliation with the postal service is that the display was physically located there.
So what’s the deal? Are these people legitimate recyclers who just don’t bother spending time on an informative website? Or is this something shady going on? In any case, I’m guess that sending my ink jet cartridges to them would probably be better than throwing them in the trash, but how much better I’m not really sure.
June 11, 2007 at 10:12 am |
One more thing to add on the topic of e-waste. I don’t know if anyone else remembers, but last Spring there was an artist, Steven Siegal, who came to campus to create a sculpture out of all of the e-waste that Stanford produces. The art department spent months getting students to turn in their e-waste to be in used in the sculpture. In the end it just kind of looked like a big cocoon-ish lump, but I guess it was the size that was supposed to be impressive. I haven’t been having much luck trying to post images in the comments, but you can see photos at the artist’s website: http://www.stevensiegel.net/ (browse to the “sited work” tab, then click on the “next” link at the bottom – it’s the second page).