zerowaste

   

 

Last night 60 Minutes (a CBS News investigative reporting segment) aired a piece titled “The Electronic Wasteland”.  The segment covered the devastating effects of illegal disposal of electronics overseas and illustrated the complicated dynamic of our industry.  What was at the heart of this piece was best practices for the processing of these devices, specifically the characteristically hazardous components (Printed Circuit Boards and Leaded Glass).  The environmental cost was clear in its illustration of improper disposal, but wasn't as clear was the real cost economically and why this is happening in the first place.

 

For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to see it last night you can by clicking on the link below:

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n

 

In 2003 California passed landmark legislation (SB20) and subsequently SB50 legislation to prevent the disposal of Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) in our local landfills.  Its passing came after the Department of Toxic Substance Control recognized the potential threat that the lead in these devices has to our groundwater and ultimately the health of Californians.  The DTSC also realized that if they were going to impart a landfill ban for these electronics they would need to provide funding because the value of the residual commodities would not cover the cost of proper disposal.  Thus, the Advance Recovery Program, whereby consumers pay a fee at the point of purchase (of a new CRT or FPD device) which is used to provide a FREE recycling solution at the end of life and reimburse state authorized recyclers the cost to properly recycle televisions and computer monitors.  The most important message here is that there is a steep cost for doing the right thing. 

At the same time California was passing its take back program for electronics the scrap market entered an all time high and continued to climb to record highs, thus spawning interest from some of the most unlikely and unintended entities taking interest in recovering electronics as a revenue opportunity.  The GREED around being GREEN took over and collectors of e-waste began to hold material hostage from recyclers for ransoms far beyond what the material was worth.  The cost?  Material was shipped intact to non-developed nations where they were dismantled with cheap labor and less then desirable methods in order to increase margins and profitability, and at the expense of the environment and the health of its final destination.

 

While the DTSC regulates and enforces the California program and its covered devices (CRTs and FPDs) to encourage diversion from our local landfills, the Basil Action Network, the Non-Governmental Organization featured in the 60 minutes piece, promotes the export of these materials and others (like PCBs) to under developed nations, and for a good reason (just watch the 60 minutes piece).  The intent of the BAN and its Pledge of True Stewardship is admirable; to use it as a barometer for finding a reputable outlet for electronics can be misleading.  Note that the BAN has not audited any of the recyclers who have currently signed the pledge, so while they are implementing a trial audit program, to date not one of the “stewards” could be validated by the BAN.  This means that it is quite plausible that some of these organizations are over stating their capabilities.  Additionally, the pledge does not account for real economies of scale and include immeasurable and impractical methods. These are reasons that ASL Recycling has not subscribed to its pledge for our best practices, instead we have adopted its measurable and practical components and paired it with California Regulatory measures and our client's expectations and needs. 

ASL Recycling is hoping that this coverage and exposure of the ultimate cause of improper, unregulated disposal will help elevate the importance of best practices and the cost, environmentally and financially, that we will pay.  ASL Recycling is committed to fostering best practices and has tirelessly tried to penetrate the marketplace with that philosophy, namely with the GREENetwork.  We believe in preventing the disposal of electronics and other hazardous materials in our local landfills as well as those abroad and we try to incorporate that philosophy in all of our products and services—it has been a stake in our brand.

ASL Recycling has a complete destruction process which means that we are mechanically dismantling the entire e-waste stream down to commodity streams (dark and light plastic, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, low and high grade printed circuit boards, leaded glass, etc.) WE DO NOT RESELL OR SHIP ANYTHING INTACT.  This is important because most of what ends up in landfills in non-developed nations is sent over for “reuse”, which is legal, but unfortunately, is not getting reused.  Its fate is clearly illustrated in the 60 minutes piece. 

Additionally, the material categories that we generate have no outlet except for reputable smelters.  With regards to the HAZARDOUS WASTES (leaded glass and printed circuit boards) we use the world’s most reputable outlets.  We send our glass to SAMSUNG/CORNING and they smelt the cullet down into more leaded glass and then manufacture new CRT tubes.  We send out printed circuit boards to XSTRADA (a precious metal recovery plant here in Canada). 

 

ASL Recycling has audited all of these facilities and their processes.

All of the other categories of waste (which are not characteristically hazardous or regulated) are sent to smelters or third party recyclers who specialize in those specific streams of waste (see complete downstream below).

 

We hope that more organizations that are generating or collecting electronic waste will start taking a keen interest in understanding the global impact of e-waste and become knowledgeable advocates and representatives for their respective organizations.  We also hope that this will motivate them to take an active role in auditing their processing partners and consider that even though there is a substantial cost financially in properly processing these devices, the cost to our environment could be greater if they don’t.

 

We invite and encourage our clients to come see our process and become passionate about all that goes into diverting electronics from our local landfills.

Networking for a greener environment

Since the inception of the GREENetwork eight months ago we’ve developed the most extensive infrastructure of e-waste drop-off locations in California. In Northern California alone we’ve established 100 GREENspots. Already, more than 90 percent of all households are within five miles or less of a free and ecologically sound e-waste recycling center. We‘ve worked diligently with our GREENspot hosts to divert over 10 million pounds of e-waste from local landfills.

And the GREENetwork is continuing to grow. This month we launched the Southern California network with 33 GREENspots that serve 72 percent of all households within 10 miles of their homes. We’ll reduce that distance to five miles as we grow, providing a consistent level of convenience across the state.

From the beginning, our vision was to provide a viable, free and convenient infrastructure for consumers and businesses to recycle their e-waste. We have worked to educate the public with consistent messaging about what e-waste is and what to do with it. And we have collaborated with retailers, manufacturers, approved collectors, cities and municipalities to divert harmful materials from our local landfills.

Several of our GREENspot e-waste drop-off locations have had tremendous success by being part of the GREENetwork. Here’s what two of them have to say:

"Our association with ASL Recycling and membership in the GREENetwork enables us to make a difference in our local community while keeping dangerous materials out of local landfills. We are now an even more convenient destination for the environmentally conscious consumer and business owner since we now offer both e-waste recycling as well as moving and storage services. And, we’ve been able to use the proceeds from the program to fund a scholarship program for students and to sponsor Special Olympics athletes."
--Bob Fraser, owner, Redwood Moving and Storage, California Moving and Storage Association

"I wanted to let you know that the GREENetwork program has helped us see an increase in the amount of calls for e-waste donation pickups and e-waste drop offs at our four thrift stores in San Mateo county. Almost weekly, I receive calls from people who said they found our contact information on the GREENetwork website. Had it not been for that site they would not have known we accept e-waste."
--Oscar Perez, stores operations manager at St. Vincent de Paul

We are working hard to collaborate with other industry organizations to make this program available to more people, make it more flexible and accessible, and provide more opportunities for people to do the right thing with their unwanted and obsolete electronics.

ASL Recycling and the GREENetwork hope to continue the effort across the nation to make e-waste recycling more convenient and free for businesses and consumers, and to help keep more harmful materials out of our nation’s landfills.

It's EASY. It's FREE. It's GREEN.

The original language in California's landmark electronic waste bill included the words "FREE" and "CONVENIENT". In 2003, when SB20 legislation was drafted, it was intended to create a program whereby a consumer's experience with e-waste recycling echoed these words.

And while California has been leading the way in creating more opportunity for e-waste recycling and helping to divert millions of pounds of hazardous material from our landfills, the average consumer remains in the dark about how to recycle their e-waste. Meanwhile their e-waste remains stockpiled in closets, garages, and storage units. We started to wonder how such a tech-savvy society could be so far behind in knowing what to do with their electronics when they were on to the next newest, smallest, coolest gadget.

A year ago if you told someone they could recycle their e-waste the first question they would probably ask is, "what is e-waste?!" While today e-waste is slowly becoming a household term when people think about their outdated PC, their CRT television hidden in the closet, the 5 cell phones in their desk drawer, we are still a long way from making it common knowledge. I like to say that the inconvenient truth about e-waste is that it has been truly inconvenient for people to recycle it, let alone conceptualize.

That is why we created the GREENetwork. The GREENetwork is a collaborative effort between California e-waste collectors, cities and municipalities, manufacturers, retailers, and ASL Recycling to provide:

- a CONVENIENT INFRASTRUCTURE of drop-off locations for consumers and businesses;
- a CONSISTENT MESSAGE about what e-waste is and how to recycle it; and
- a FREE way to recycle according to state regulations and industry best practices.

GREENsters (that's what we call people who recycle at their local GREENspot) can not only rest assured that all their personal information will be destroyed when they go their local GREENspot, they can recycle when they want to because GREENspots are permanent destinations with normal business hours.

So, how do we make a GREENster out of everyone? The GREENetwork hosts an online interactive listing of all its GREENspot drop-off locations (www.aslgreenspot.com), to which we drives consumers and businesses through a continuous mass-media campaign and public outreach. Every month we interact with local media outlets to inform them of the newest GREENspots in their areas. Additionally, we partner with the largest local news radio station in the market to reach over a million people a week with one clear message.

Today, only seven months after it was launched to the public, the GREENetwork has 100 GREENspot e-waste drop-off locations in Northern California serving 96 percent of the households in the nine-county Bay Area within 10 miles of their home, and 89 percent within 5 miles. Since its inception, the GREENetwork has been able to divert almost 10 million pounds of e-waste from local landfills and helped to educate thousands of people about what e-waste is and how to recycle it. This month we will launch the GREENetwork in Southern California and so soon we will be serving the entire state.

Here are some catchy definitions to add to your handheld gadget:

GREENetwork (green spot) n. The newest, coolest, easiest way for everyone and their mother to recycle their old, "so-last-year" e-waste. Syn. Easy

GREENster: (tree-huhg-er) n. Trend-setting, tech-savvy, hipster who understands the importance of balancing consumerism with environmentalism. Is fully aware of where their GREENspot is and how to use it. Syn. Recycler

GREENspot (zip-kohd ) n. The place you go to get rid of all that old electronic equipment that doesn't work and is taking up valuable space in your closet, garage, desk drawer. Syn. FREE

Let's get the conversation started!

As I begin to pen the first post for ZERO WASTE, the official blog of ASL Recycling, I can't help but think about the nature of blogging itself. It is one of the newest forms of communication and has allowed people to share stories, express opinions, and to even create news. You might even say that consumer electronics, from computers to iPhones and Blackberries are driving this new form of expression.

The smallest, fastest, coolest electronics play their part in fueling new forms of communication and provide us with wider perspectives and visibility across cultural divides, industries and politics, and with more efficient ways to conduct business. The downside is consumer electronic devices have created an entirely new stream of waste: e-waste.

E-waste, the fastest-growing category of municipal solid waste, is now an integral part of the consumer electronics industry, and conversations about e-waste are becoming as frequent as the release of the newest gaming device, cell phone or television.

This blog, which I’m calling Zero Waste, is intended not to be just another landing spot in cyberspace, but a meeting place where we can cut through the clutter (no pun intended) and zero in on the key aspects of this growing movement. I plan to use this forum to explore, question, explain, and analyze state and federal legislation, best practices, industry programs, consumer behavior, special interest initiatives, and new ideas — all as they relate to e-waste.

As one of the largest e-waste recyclers in the very first state to engage in an e-waste legislated program, ASL Recycling is uniquely qualified to speak on a variety of recycling topics, and to offer sound opinions and perspectives. We will ask questions that will demand our industry to take the initiative to provide as many FREE and CONVENIENT opportunities for everyone to dispose of unwanted and obsolete electronics responsibly.

Most importantly, I want this blog to be a conversation starter, a continuing dialogue that will help maintain the momentum of this environmental movement, because electronics have a place in our lives, just not in our landfills. In other words, this is not just our own customized soap box, but a platform for us all to stand on and stand up for making a difference.

I am excited to begin posting conversations on a regular basis and hope you will join me in contributing to the ZERO WASTE goals.

Carey Levine
VP Sales and Marketing
ASL Recycling/GREENetwork