BadgerFiles

I cracked my monitor over the Christmas holiday, which prompted me to buy a Samsung 22″ widescreen from Best Buy. That got me thinking about technology recycling, and I thought I’d share an article I wrote for the Daily Item, a Sunbury, PA based newspaper, about e-waste recycling.
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Have you ever sent an old computer or electronic device to the landfill to be buried and forgotten? If we be honest with each other, most of us have sent our e-waste to the dump for one reason or another.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, approximately four percent of all solid waste is e-waste, which includes computers, printers, cell phones, TVs, and monitors.

“The CRT [cathode ray tube] monitors are really dangerous,” warns Conor Quinlan, CEO of MePush Technology Solutions. The glass in the older CRT monitors contain large amounts of lead. “The LCD [flat screen] monitors are better.”

The EPA believes our discarded electronics account for as much as 40% of the lead found in landfills. Other toxins include mercury and cadmium. Batteries, cell phones, and the circuit boards inside your computer introduce mercury into the landfill. The semiconductors and the resistors on circuit boards contain cadmium.

These chemicals from the electronics leach from the landfill and contaminate our food, water, and air sources. The best way to prevent contamination is to dispose of your e-waste in a responsible manner, or as Quinlan says, “Be mindful of what you’re doing.”

You do not need to have a radical agenda to care about how you impact the environment. MePush offers technology recycling services to clients. “We try to be as green as we can be,” says Mr. Quinlan.

Often Quinlan’s clients do not want their old printers and computers, so he offers technology recycling as a value added service. If you just call him up and say come get this old computer, he charges a $30 fee.

What does Quinlan do with the computers he recovers? Often, the parts from several older computers can be combined to form one better system. He has given several computers new life by donating them to local non-profit organizations.

Individual parts from the recovered computers can be reused or resold on eBay. The sales from boxed lots of spare parts can sometimes be enough to pay for Quinlan’s Internet access. After the parts are stripped, the plastic and metal cases can be recycled.

The parts Quinlan cannot use in normal operations sit in a corner until he finds a qualified recycling company to take them. The emphasis is on qualified because unscrupulous recyclers ship their e-waste out of the country for disposal or toss it in the landfill after they harvest any reusable parts. The problem Quinlan has with finding someone to take his stack of miscellaneous components is that he does not have enough to warrant pick up from a larger recycling company.

Recently, Staples, Inc. became the first retail store to announce a nationwide technology recycling program. Craig Miller, General Manager of the Lewisburg Staples, says, “we accept the technology we sell, which consists of used office equipment.” Used office items include PCs, monitors, faxes, laptops, and all-in-ones. They do not accept televisions or copiers.

Since the Staples recycling program began in mid-May, Miller reports “the store averages between five and ten recycles a week. The program becomes more popular as the word spreads.” Consumers who are concerned with being green are willing to pay Staples the $10 per piece for the proper disposable of their used technology, Mr. Miller points out. Keyboards, mice, and speakers are free.

The collected e-waste gets tossed in a cardboard box in the back of the store and waits for a third-party company to pick it up. The recycler breaks the e-waste down into its reusable metals, plastics, and components for further recycling. According to Miller, Staples does not currently accept individual system components, such as motherboards, graphic cards, or hard disks.

The technology recycling program at Staples builds on a successful ink cartridge recycling program. According to Miller, the Lewisburg store “takes in several hundred ink cartridges a week.” In exchange for your ink or toner cartridge, Staples offers $3 off the purchase of a Dell, HP, or Lexmark cartridge.

Reusing and recycling are important ways for consumers and companies to dispose of used electronics, but as consumers, we can extend the life of our computers by making better purchasing decisions. When you buy a new computer, Quinlan offers the following advice to help you extend the life of the computer and reduce your e-waste.

“Don’t buy bottom-of-the-barrel systems.” These are the $500 economy systems. Mr. points out they often do not last through the first year of use, which is one reason he does not sell them.

“Get the warranty,” is Quinlan’s next piece of advice. The extended warranty ensures you have a working computer for as many as three years, and if you opt for next business day service, the repair technician comes to you.

If you use a laptop, Quinlan suggests accidental damage insurance from the computer manufacturer. Obviously, when you take your computer on the go, you will drop it. The screens are fragile and expensive to replace without a warranty.

The recycling mantra is reduce, reuse, and recycle. As industry and individual become more green, recycling e-waste will be easier.