Green Options » ewaste

E-Waste Menace (Part 2): Think Globally, Act Locally

Dr Vandana Prakash — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:32:11 +0000

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.

E-Waste Menace (Part 1): Think Locally, Act Globally

Dr Vandana Prakash — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:12:15 +0000

Delhi, India is becoming the world’s e-waste capital. Delhi alone generates 50,000 tons of e-waste from recycled and discarded electronic parts. Mumbai and Kolkatta closely follow this lead.

The problem is only partly indigenous; imports into these cities from America add to the burden, with 50-80% of America’s e-waste being exported. California alone exports about 9,000 tons (20 million pounds) to the developing world.

Often, it’s the least desirable and most environmentally harmful materials that are the first to be shipped to other, less affluent countries. No one wants to do deal with them and yet everyone wants to pay the least price to dispose of them. The economics of e-waste further encourage globalized waste dumping.

Satish Sinha, associate director of environmental NGO Toxic Link, told the Hindustan Times that for US recyclers avoiding the $20 cost of electronics recycling in the US plus raking in up to $15 paid by Indian e-waste importers “means a net gain of $35 for the US recycler.”

TV’s Go Digital, but Where Do Old TV’s Go?

Courtney Carlisle — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:50:55 +0000

On February 17, 2009 television stations will go digital, meaning that analog TV’s will not longer receive a signal, leaving millions of analog TV owners with a dark and useless TV set. As technology is rapidly advances, we are constantly ‘trading up’ to get a faster connection and sharper image - whether its a cell phone, MP3 player or television.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a comprehensive way to deal with E-waste. In fact, when the stations go ‘lights out’ on analog sets next year, there isn’t an e-waste program to handle the discarded TV’s. Currently, only Sony electronics has offered to take back and recycle old Sony sets. If old sets aren’t properly disposed of, we face cadmium, lead, beryllium seeping into the soil and contaminating our water supply.

According to the Take Back My TV campaign this is the largest government mandated obsolescence program in US history. The Sony announced their recycling campaign earlier this year in a release that noted the amount of e-waste is on the rise and the issue is becoming increasingly crucial as the FCC-mandated switch to all digital TV signals in February 2009 nears. The Consumer Electronics Association expects at least 30 million digital televisions to be sold in the U.S. this year alone.

Photo credit: Sony

Related Posts on E-Waste and Recycling Electronics:

Erasing Electronics Buyer Remorse

Paul Smith — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:39:57 +0000

Recycling as an everyday practice has become more and more common these days. But what about all those gadgets you accumulate? What happens to them? There are many options out there, but for most, they involve more cost, effort, and time then our busy schedules or motivation will allow. Sure, there are some newer options such as Second Rotation, the company I profiled in January that quotes you a value for your product based on the condition you claim it’s in, then they inspect it, and either give you that amount, or a different agreed upon one. But even there, with the free shipping and the possibility of getting cash rather then spending it to recycle, it’s based on current market value, a wildly fluctuating amount, as the new half price twice the speed iPhone exemplifies.

What if you could guarantee exactly how much you’d get, based on how long you’ve owned it, at the time of purchase? This is now a reality, via the company Tech Forward. You can buy a product at any store you like, then purchase their Guaranteed Buyback service, which covers a wide range of electronics, from MP3 players to desktop computers.

Five Electronics Fixes: Keep Them Running, and Out of the Landfill

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:48:05 +0000

Electronic waste is a big environmental issue, and we’ve covered numerous ways that both electronics companies and consumers can reduce the amount of e-waste headed for landfills. While most recent efforts focus on reuse and/or recycling (which are both important), Israeli site FixYa harnesses "crowd power" (ie, social media) to help people fix their electronics rather than disposing of them. The main motivation behind FixYa was the increasing lack of technical support provided for consumer electronics, but Yaniv Ben Saadon told us that there’s a green element to the site’s mission:

By allowing more and more consumers to successfully operate and mend their products, FixYa decreases the number of products that are discarded and eventually pollute our environment. Although globalization and competition drive the average consumption of consumer products to increase over time, the usability of these products decreases as they become more technologically advanced and challenging to operate. Moreover, since manufacturers are under growing pressure to release their products to their markets, often these products are mass produced before they are properly designed. The result is that the products we buy are cheaper than they were before, yet more challenging to operate.

From gaming systems to washing machines, FixYa’s user have already provided a wide range of "fix-it" advice. Ben Saadon shared with us some of the most popular problems, and the highest-ranked solutions, addressed on the site.

1. A Clacking Xbox with Three Flashing Red Lights

User Carl26 walks a panicked gamer through the process of fixing this problem with the GPU memory.

2. Another Flashing Light… on a Kenmore Dish Washer

Expert qqwweer shows how to reset the light.

3. Ipod Keeps Displaying "Do Not Disconnect"

User Yung offers four different approaches to this problem.

4. Sansa MP3 Player Won’t Turn On

User chrism provides a really simple solution to this really aggravating problem.

5. DVD Player’s P-SCAN Split-Screen Keeps Coming On

User spyder99 shows that sometimes a solution is as easy as flipping a switch… if you know where that switch is located.

These are just a few examples of how FixYa’s brand of social media provides solutions for users’ pocketbooks and the envionment. Ben Saadon notes

Through the collaboration of a community of consumers, FixYa encourages its users to learn from the experience of others on how to properly use and fix their products. The result is that more and more consumers are able to successfully operate their existing products rather than replace them with newer ones, and thus help to reduce the number of products that ended up polluting our environment.

And, if throwing your problem out to the community isn’t your style, FixYa also features a massive collection of manuals and troubleshooting guides.

Kicking the Habit: Reusing Electro-Waste

Patrick Donnelly — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:51:27 +0000

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.