Researchers at the University of York have recently come up with a method of recycling that seems like it fell from the pages of a science fiction novel. They want to turn discarded television screens into components for biomedicine.

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San Francisco created the “EcoFinder” iPhone App to help residents recycle and dispose of materials.  The open data philosophy behind the app is Government 2.0 at work.

With the release today of San Francisco’s first iPhone app based on a City data feed, recycling just got much easier for our residents.

San Franciscans already lead the nation in recycling – in May we announced a 72% diversion rate of all materials going to the landfill – but we want to do more. Last week we passed the nation’s first mandatory recycling and composting laws. We’ve pledged to recycle 75% of the materials that would otherwise go to the landfill by 2010 and zero waste by 2020.

We will only reach these lofty goals together — with the help of all our residents. That’s why the City’s environment department (@SFEnvironment) has launched an iPhone version of the popular web-based EcoFinder tool.

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Although the environment is hardly the priority issue du jour, China has not entirely changed its course with regard to the environment, despite the economic turmoil, as a “worst case scenario” might have suggested. Legislation on the management of electronic waste, signed into effect this week by China’s cabinet, the State Council, is a key example of China’s continued commitment to making progress on environmental protection.

The new law mandates the establishment of centralized funding for enlargement and improvement of safe electronic recycling facilities in China. It also places responsibility on manufacturers, retailers, repair and customer service providers and recycling companies to collect and responsibly handle electronic waste; though the wording of the scope of their responsibility as well as punitive measures for noncompliance is vague.

These regulations aim to reduce a stream of pollution that builds each year. The problem of industrialized countries’ illegal exportation of e-waste on China and other developing countries has generated significant attention and debate in recent years, both inside and outside China. While advocacy groups like Greenpeace point fingers at the corporations for not taking efforts to control the disposal of their products or designing them with fewer toxic components, insufficient legislation and monitoring by both sending and receiving countries has exacerbated the problem.

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Greenpeace planted a tracking device in an old TV, dropped it off at a recycling center, and tracked where it went. The results were disturbing, but sadly predicable.

The television ended up being shipped from the UK to Nigeria before being dismantled, a complete violation of European Union laws which require that potentially hazardous e-waste be disposed of within Europe.

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It’s easy to think that solar panels can do no wrong— after all, they will help lead us out of our energy crisis, right? Unfortunately, these shining beacons of hope produce toxic e-waste just like cell phones, TVs, and computers. A report released today by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition admonishes the solar industry to face its e-waste problem head on or risk “repeating the mistakes made by the microelectronics industry.”

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While Dell still beats Apple in Greenpeace’s annual electronics report, Apple will catch up if they meet their targets over the next few years. Here’s how the two computer makers compare (according to Greenpeace) on energy efficiency, packaging, materials, and recycling.

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Americans produce millions of tons of e-waste each year. Our old computers, cameras, VCRs and so on are full of toxic substances that, if disposed of improperly, are terrible for our ecosystem. Sony is teaming up with Waste Management to help consumers responsibly dispose of e-waste. They’re hosting events across the U.S. and accepting TVs, computer monitors, computer systems, VCRs, DVDs, cameras, phones and other consumer electronics.

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I often have email exchanges with ecopreneurs, non-profits, NGOs and various business folks that don’t necessarily end up as a blog post. Sometimes I start in one direction and end up in another. That’s what happened here when I received an email from Rob Wallace at Keep America Beautiful.

Rob had one of those ironic moments. He sent out an email and press release to us asking:

How can recycling wireless phones support the new administration’s energy policy?  Our recycling partner, ReCellular, is a reuse-oriented recycler of cellular equipment, and we’re confident that their structure and operations support zero-waste wireless recycling.

Great email pitch. Bookmark this page for next time you send out a press release. However, this pitch landed on my screen the day after I wrote this post on 60 Minutes and Executive Recycling. I immediately asked Rob if he’d be interested in commenting on the whole issue of dumping of e-waste in China instead. And he was and here is what he had to say:

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Oddly enough, I just write a piece for this blog a few days ago, Building A Greenwash Crisis Plan, looks like Executive Recycling could use one. The 60 minutes report last night, The Electronic Wasteland, uh…certainly gave them cause to need one!

This is a bit of a chilling tale for any eco entrepreneur! Executive Recycling, a small Colorado based, e-waste recycling center, was founded by Brandon Richter in 2004 with high hopes to provide a green solution to a growing problem. As he put it:

You think that you are doing good sending your computers to a recycling company.. but that is not exactly the case..  “Your e-waste is recycled properly, right here in the U.S. - not simply dumped on somebody else.”

I’m going to give Richter the benefit of the doubt here. When the dreaded call from 60 minutes came (You all know the joke don’t’ you? “What are the 5 most dreaded words a CEO can hear? “This is 60 Minutes calling.”) Richter gladly agreed to help them and gave them access to his records.

Things obviously didn’t turn out so well, since 60 Minutes found that containers of used monitors left his facility and were shipped overseas, ending up contributing to the virtual destruction of a town in China that dismantles all kinds of e-waste. A snip from the broadcast transcript…

And Brandon Richter, CEO of Executive Recycling, was still warning of the dangers of shipping waste to China. “I just heard actually a child actually died over there breaking this material down, just getting all these toxins,” he said.

Then Pelley told him we’d tracked his container to Hong Kong.

“This is a photograph from your yard, the Executive Recycling yard,” Pelley told Richter, showing him a photo we’d taken of a shipping container in his yard. “We followed this container to Hong Kong.”

“Okay,” Richter replied.

“And I wonder why that would be?” Pelley asked.

“Hmm. I have no clue,” Richter said.

“The Hong Kong customs people opened the container…and found it full of CRT screens which, as you probably know, is illegal to export to Hong Kong,” Pelley said.

“Yeah, yep,” Richter replied. “I don’t know if that container was filled with glass. I doubt it was. We don’t fill glass, CRT glass in those containers.”

“This container was in your yard, filled with CRT screens, and exported to Hong Kong, which probably wouldn’t be legal,” Pelley said.

“No, absolutely not. Yeah,” Richter said.

“Can you explain that?” Pelley asked.

“Yeah, it’s not - it was not filled in our facility,” Richt

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]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/11/10/executive-recycling-60-minutes-came-calling-you-need-a-greenwash-crisis-plan/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/11/03/e-waste-menace-part-2-think-globally-act-locally/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/11/03/e-waste-menace-part-2-think-globally-act-locally/#comments Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:32:11 +0000 Dr Vandana Prakash http://ecoworldly.com/2008/11/03/e-waste-menace-part-2-think-globally-act-locally/ Following-up on my previous post, this part explores need for local action in tackling the “e-waste menace.”  Delhi being the world’s e-waste capital sure raises several interesting questions. This is especially the case as one discovers that no other Indian state – with the exception of forward-looking Kerala – has any legislation in place to deal with the issue.

I am not in favor of widespread governmental micromanagement of anything and everything. So, I was initially happy to see the southern Indian cities – Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad (all of which are closely associated with the development of the Indian silicon valley) – boast of having the private sector involved in e-waste disposal. This demonstrated that sufficient economic incentives exist to invite private disposal of electronics waste. But then I started having second thoughts.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2008/11/03/e-waste-menace-part-2-think-globally-act-locally/feed/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/10/16/resources-for-proper-disposal-of-e-waste/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/10/16/resources-for-proper-disposal-of-e-waste/#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:00:57 +0000 Cassie Walker http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/10/16/resources-for-proper-disposal-of-e-waste/ A friend recently mentioned that until last week, she had no idea how important it was to properly dispose of computers, printers, TVs and other electronic or “e-waste”.

Seems like she’s not alone. According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, e-waste is one of the fastest growing segments of our waste stream.

Like everything else, you should approach e-waste with the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle hierarchy in mind.

• Reduce: lessen the amount of equipment that you buy through proper maintenance. Consider updating computers instead of buying new ones.
• Reuse: refurbish equipment, or donate working items to schools or other charities to extend their life (make sure to ask if your donation is eligible for a tax deduction).
• Recycle: as a last resort, items that are no longer usable may be recycled.

It’s this last bit that many people don’t know how to handle: an estimated 75% of outdated electronics are being stored, in part because people don’t know what to do with them.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/10/16/resources-for-proper-disposal-of-e-waste/feed/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/09/17/gao-epa-fails-to-control-export-of-hazardous-e-waste-to-third-world/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/09/17/gao-epa-fails-to-control-export-of-hazardous-e-waste-to-third-world/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:33:57 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://ecoscraps.com/2008/09/17/gao-epa-fails-to-control-export-of-hazardous-e-waste-to-third-world/ The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a scathing critique of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today for failing to control the export of toxic e-waste to third world countries. Discarded computers, televisions, cellphones, etc. contain hazardous heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium which are dismantled under unsafe conditions in other countries where they enter into the air and water. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.), who commissioned the report, stated,”It’s a really inadequate situation that we’ve allowed to continue. We have a regulation where, as far as I can tell, there’s no effort to enforce it.”

Via: Truthout

Image: United Nations University

]]> http://ecoscraps.com/2008/09/17/gao-epa-fails-to-control-export-of-hazardous-e-waste-to-third-world/feed/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/05/e-wasted-where-will-your-computer-and-ipod-go-to-die/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/05/e-wasted-where-will-your-computer-and-ipod-go-to-die/#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:34:34 +0000 Simran Sethi http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/05/e-wasted-where-will-your-computer-and-ipod-go-to-die/

Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh are writing a series on the impacts of everyday things. They will be posting previews on Green Options before launching the posts on Huffington Post. Want to know how to green your internet porn (or emailing or iTunes) habit? Check out these tips and a post-mortem of where your computers go to die.

Recently, the world computer population surpassed 1 billion. It’s a legion of artificial intelligence that will never die, at least not while humans are around to see it.

The computer species appears to have a high mortality rate (whether due to the rapid progress of technology or an industry conspiracy to ensure that products must be replaced regularly). They “crash” and “die” in droves, their human counterparts literally kicking them to the curb. But there is no heaven, no place in the clouds, for the cold, hard shell once warmed by electrical currents. Once it has left your desk, your computer doesn’t disappear. In a sense, it lives on.

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/05/e-wasted-where-will-your-computer-and-ipod-go-to-die/feed/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/01/02/new-yorkers-make-two-calls-for-e-waste-recycling/ http://ecoscraps.com/2008/01/02/new-yorkers-make-two-calls-for-e-waste-recycling/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:39:37 +0000 Jeff McIntire-Strasburg http://ecoscraps.com/2008/01/02/new-yorkers-make-two-calls-for-e-waste-recycling/ “Municipalities around the world are working to make electronics manufacturers responsible for cleaning up their own e-toxic mess, including New York City. In fact, on January 14, there will be a hearing in the City Council Chambers about a bill that would require manufacturers of electronics sold within the City to take responsibility for the ‘end-of-life management’ of their products.”

]]> http://ecoscraps.com/2008/01/02/new-yorkers-make-two-calls-for-e-waste-recycling/feed/ http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/09/04/daily-tip-safe-battery-disposal/ http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/09/04/daily-tip-safe-battery-disposal/#comments Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:17:15 +0000 Amy Stodghill http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/09/04/daily-tip-safe-battery-disposal/ All batteries contain heavy metals, which are useful for providing power for our portable devices, but aren’t so great for the environment. When your batteries run out of juice, or just won’t keep their charge anymore, be sure to dispose of them properly.

Many small electronics, like cell phones, iPods, computers and digital cameras use rechargeable batteries. These are often nickel-cadmium, metal-hydride or lithium-ion batteries. Then there are single-use alkaline batteries used for remote controls, alarm clocks, and other small devices. And of course there are the big lead-acid batteries that sit under the hood of your car. (For more on different battery types check out Earth911.org.)

Don’t throw batteries away. When the battery casing corrodes in a landfill, the heavy metals leak out and contaminate soils and groundwater creating a real toxic mess. This is why batteries (and other electronic items containing heavy metals) should be disposed of safely. While recycling batteries isn’t as easy as recycling a soda bottle, it is easy to find a place to drop them off.

A drop off site may be closer than you think. Many hardware stores, drug stores, and electronics retailers now act as collection points for batteries. Call 2 Recycle, a rechargeable battery recycling corporation, lists small and large retailers that offer this service to customers. You can also find battery drop-off locations near you at Earth911.org. For car batteries, check with your local auto shop or solid waste management company for safe disposal details.

Amy says: When my AA batteries die I’ll throw them in a drawer that holds some other electronic odds and ends (but you can use any kind of container). Once I’ve built up a stash of used-up batteries, I take them to my locally-owned green retailer, 3R Living. They collect the batteries and send them off to a company for recycling or safe disposal.

More on battery recycling from GO:

Daily Tip: Keep Going and Going and Going to Recycle Your Batteries

Daily Tip: Rechargeable Batteries

Daily Tip: Recycle Auto-matically

Be SAFE When Disposing of Hazardous Waste

]]> http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/09/04/daily-tip-safe-battery-disposal/feed/ http://shirleysilukgregory.greenoptions.com/2007/08/22/red-green-blue-green-gadgets-or-just-more-gadget-garbage/ http://shirleysilukgregory.greenoptions.com/2007/08/22/red-green-blue-green-gadgets-or-just-more-gadget-garbage/#comments Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:02:27 +0000 Shirley Siluk Gregory http://shirleysilukgregory.greenoptions.com/2007/08/22/red-green-blue-green-gadgets-or-just-more-gadget-garbage/ Technophiles often like to point out how their gadgets help save the planet by, say, eliminating the need for CDs (think iPod), DVDs (TiVO) and other wasteful products because everything’s going increasingly digital. However, the fact that more and more gadgets are produced and purchased every year, and thrown away more frequently as they quickly become obsolete, negates some of those environmental benefits. In fact, Greenpeace estimates that, globally, we throw away between 20 and 50 tons of electronics every year.

Then there are the unintended other consequences: all the resulting waste generated by gadget catalogs, gadget manuals, gadget bills ( i.e., the 300-plus-page printed iPhone bill) … again, not exactly Earth-friendly.

Yes, it’s possible to recycle these gadgets after they outlive their cutting-edge usefulness, but many consumers don’t: the old electronics end up either languishing in closets and basements, leaching heavy metals into landfills, or piling up in Chinese scrap heaps until they are, maybe, recycled.

So how can the situation be improved? Yes, going digital eliminates a lot of extraneous waste, but should we do more to encourage — or even mandate — electronics recycling? What is the best way to reduce all this waste?

]]> http://shirleysilukgregory.greenoptions.com/2007/08/22/red-green-blue-green-gadgets-or-just-more-gadget-garbage/feed/ http://alexho.greenoptions.com/2007/07/31/geek-squad-taking-a-step-towards-helping-the-environment/ http://alexho.greenoptions.com/2007/07/31/geek-squad-taking-a-step-towards-helping-the-environment/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:23:45 +0000 Alex Ho http://alexho.greenoptions.com/2007/07/31/geek-squad-taking-a-step-towards-helping-the-environment/ The Geek Squad is partnering with IdeaFestival to promote a contest for ideas that help with e-waste, power conservation, and untapped resources. The Geek Squad is a national 24-hour computer support service that is offered by Best Buy stores around the nation.

The Idea Festival is a 3 day event from September 13-15, 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky, that gathers together leaders and thinkers across the nation to explore and celebrate innovations and ideas. Together, Geek Squad and Idea Festival are looking for great ideas in the following areas:

Solutions for eWaste: As much as technology is making life easier for most of us, the growing problem of eWaste is making things harder for the environment. Whether it’s an idea for a great piece of art made from recycled motherboards, or a biodegradable laptop made from sunflower seeds, Geek Squad wants to hear it.

Power Conservation: The world is awash in battery inefficiencies. Got a schematic for a more efficient solar panel? Send it in to Geek Squad. Think the world should harness the collective power of stationary bike riders and use it to heat museums? Even better.

Maximizing Untapped Resources: Geek Squad wants to hear about untapped resources, be they people they aren’t talking to but should, how to maximize ordinary things for extraordinary purposes (corn helps us make fuel now), or something else entirely.

The main purpose of the site is to promote ideas that people can suggest and it will also allow you to rate ideas submitted by others. Winners will get an all-expenses-paid trip to Idea Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. I am not sure how much fun you can have in Kentucky outside of the event, but the event sure sounds cool.

The Geek Squad Challenge

Idea Festival

]]> http://alexho.greenoptions.com/2007/07/31/geek-squad-taking-a-step-towards-helping-the-environment/feed/ http://meganprusynski.greenoptions.com/2007/05/04/apple-realizes-that-going-green-is-good-pr/ http://meganprusynski.greenoptions.com/2007/05/04/apple-realizes-that-going-green-is-good-pr/#comments Fri, 04 May 2007 19:06:03 +0000 Megan Prusynski http://meganprusynski.greenoptions.com/2007/05/04/apple-realizes-that-going-green-is-good-pr/ Steve Jobs (the CEO of Apple) may be known as a marketing genius, but it certainly took him a little while to realize that green is the new black. Quite certainly in response to Greenpeace’s Green My Apple campaign (which I discussed previously on Green Options), Jobs has come forward saying that a greener Apple is on the horizon.

Apple recently announced plans for A Greener Apple and highlighted several improvements in sustainability that Apple has made over the past few years that are now being brought to light. The announcement responds to the concerns Greenpeace brought up - phasing out toxic chemicals, improving the take-back and recycling programs, and improving energy efficiency and overall environmental footprint. Steve Jobs outlines what Apple has done, is currently working on, and will do in the future to improve on the company’s environmental impact:

Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple’s current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas. Whatever other improvements we need to make, it is certainly clear that we have failed to communicate the things that we are doing well.

It is generally not Apple’s policy to trumpet our plans for the future; we tend to talk about the things we have just accomplished. Unfortunately this policy has left our customers, shareholders, employees and the industry in the dark about Apple’s desires and plans to become greener. Our stakeholders deserve and expect more from us, and they’re right to do so. They want us to be a leader in this area, just as we are in the other areas of our business. So today we’re changing our policy.

Jobs goes on to explain how Apple has and will continue to phase out toxic chemicals in their products, such as lead (which was nearly eliminated in 2006 when Apple stopped producing CRT displays), Cadmium, Arsenic (which should be phased out in displays by the end of 2008), Mercury, PVC, and Brominated Flame Retardants (PVC & BFRs will also be eliminated by the end of 2008). Jobs also discusses Apple’s recycling program, which he considers far superior to some of his competitors’ programs.

Greenpeace responded to this news by increasing the environmental rating they gave Apple from 2.7 to 5 out of 10. They applauded the company for making strides in their environmental policy, but said that there is still room for improvement. For instance, Apple’s take-back recycling program is currently only available in the US. Greenpeace suggests they implement a worldwide comprehensive recycling program to ensure that none of their products end up as e-waste. Greenpeace urges Apple to go all the way towards making their products “green to the core.”

This news has created quite a buzz from Apple enthusiasts and bloggers. On GigaOM, Katie Fehrenbacher discusses how Apple’s announcement illustrates how green concepts are becoming a necessary part of a company’s branding, especially in tech industries. Working towards greener solutions has become a business necessity in order to keep consumers happy. Green is definitely the new black.

As I write this on my old Apple Powerbook, I am quite excited to learn that the company whose products I use every day is improving its environmental standards. Of course, this means I may have to put off upgrading to a new machine until their products are even greener and the toxic chemicals are all phased out. Hopefully that MacBookPro I’m eyeing will soon be free of toxic chemicals, have an LED display, and be green enough for this environmentalist to plunk down a serious chunk of change. Yo Steve, do you need anyone to test the new green Apple products you’re creating? (hint, hint…)

Links: Apple’s ‘A Greener Apple’ Announcement, Greenpeace’s Response, Macworld news article, Discussion on GigaOM.

]]> http://meganprusynski.greenoptions.com/2007/05/04/apple-realizes-that-going-green-is-good-pr/feed/ http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/04/04/g4-takes-on-e-waste-for-earth-day/ http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/04/04/g4-takes-on-e-waste-for-earth-day/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:01:52 +0000 Amy Stodghill http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/04/04/g4-takes-on-e-waste-for-earth-day/ G4 plans to hit their target audience with an electronics waste recycling campaign, Gcycle.

Gcycle is a public awareness campaign sponsored by G4, a growing cable network geared for guys 18-34, and Earth911, an online environmental information hub, to encourage responsible disposal of e-waste.

The Gcycle campaign will launch on Earth Day (April 22) with an extensive on-air and online promotion, plus featured programming and special events dedicated to the issue. The website will host similar features to those already available on Earth911, such as a zip-code locator to find recycling tips and resources across the US.

There isn't anything up yet on the Gcycle site, but if it is anything like G4 TV this campaign will be interactive, plugged in and in your face. Unlike other e-waste campaigns that usually have to target a broad population, an advantage G4 has in this campaign is knowing their audience. They already know what appeals to their target demographic, and they know how those people relate to their electronics (and the generation of subsequent broken or obsolete electronics that become e-waste). This will make it easier to focus their message and the call to action.

While there isn't a set end date for this campaign, a lot of things like this that tie in to a specific date or event quickly lose steam shortly afterwards. I'd like to see the push continue beyond Earth Day so that all those abused video game consoles, old ipods and other gadgets can stay out of landfills.

Yahoo! Finance

]]> http://amystodghill.greenoptions.com/2007/04/04/g4-takes-on-e-waste-for-earth-day/feed/ http://patrickdonnelly.greenoptions.com/2007/03/23/kicking-the-habit-reusing-electro-waste/ http://patrickdonnelly.greenoptions.com/2007/03/23/kicking-the-habit-reusing-electro-waste/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:51:27 +0000 Patrick Donnelly http://patrickdonnelly.greenoptions.com/2007/03/23/kicking-the-habit-reusing-electro-waste/ We’ve all been struck by the dilemma at some point in the past several years. A beautiful piece of technology, which we were so excited about initially, slowly faded, began to malfunction, and finally bit the dust.

Most of our modern electronics are completely non-repairable (or repair is prohibitively expensive—in many cases more than the cost of the item!), and so we dispose of them. But how?

E-waste is becoming a major problem in our technological society. When our electronics wear out, rather than getting them fixed, creatively reusing them, or at the very least recycling them, many people are simply tossing them into the dumpster. According to the EPA, computer monitors (amongst the worst of e-waste) contain an average of four pounds of lead, as well as chromium and mercury. When all of these toxic chemicals are deposited into our landfills, they slowly work their way down to our water table.

The mantra of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle is more important than ever when it comes to e-waste. I’d like to focus on the Reuse aspect. There are several creative options for reusing our dysfunctional or dead e-waste, and there is much more work possible to be done.

A Geeky-Green Kind of Accessory

One creative solution to the e-waste problem is to use portions of it in a totally different way. Acorn Studios, a Canadian-based company, has been doing this for years. After working as a Waste Management Engineer, the founder, Nicola Harper, had seen enough e-waste piling up in the landfill to know that it was time to do something about it. She sees herself as “increasing consumer awareness of recycled content products”.

Acorn Studios makes cuff links from keyboard keys, notebooks bound with 5.25” floppy disks, clocks from old CDs, and earrings from circuitboards, just to name a few. They also have a whole section on their website devoted to DIY recycled crafts, like a car mirror bookshelf, or a tie wallet. And a tip section for ways to green your office or other electronic workspace.

 

Benevolent Green-Geeks

Another creative solution to reusing e-waste is the Free Geek movement. Free Geek started in Portland, OR and has the mission of “reusing and recycling used technology to provide computers, education, internet access and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service.” They collect e-waste, recycle what cannot be reused, and reuse what can, using their geek skills to turn it into useful products for the community to use.

In just four years, Free Geek has collected e-waste from all over Portland, and recycled 360 tons of it, as well as refurbishing 3,000 computer systems that are now in use all over their community. There are a number of other Free Geek operations throughout the US, including in Arkansas, Chicago, and Tennessee. See Also: wikipedia on Free Geek.

Finding creative solutions to the e-waste problem is an important avenue we must, as a society, decide we are going to take. Reusing our used up electronics in a creative fashion, like Acorn Studio, or for the benefit of the community, like Free Geek, are two innovative answers to the e-waste problem.

]]> http://patrickdonnelly.greenoptions.com/2007/03/23/kicking-the-habit-reusing-electro-waste/feed/