Group items tagged

SPOKANE -- If you have old electronics collecting dust at home there's a free and green way in Washington now to get rid of all that unwanted clutter. Many of the electronics people use on a daily basis contain lead and mercury making it harmful to just toss them into a landfill. That's why a new state law requires makers of televisions, computers, laptops, and monitors to provide free e-cycling facilities.

E-waste: search through any basement, attic or garage in America and you'll likely find some. Old computers and cell phones, your ancient TV that shows only a scratchy black-and-white picture, that broken printer. These are all examples of electronic waste, also known as e-waste - a booming facet of America's waste stream. Americans generate between 5 and 7 million tons of e-waste each year - and the amount is growing three times faster than other types of municipal waste, according to the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association. The association is a nonprofit interstate group of New England states - including New Hampshire - that coordinates waste and pollution prevention programs. Though e-waste itself isn't a new phenomenon, only within about the last eight years have states tried to grapple with how to properly dispose of electronics that contain chemicals harmful to the environment when simply tossed in a landfill or burned in an incinerator. New Hampshire is one of 18 states in the country to have a law regulating e-waste, and the law may soon get a little stricter.

The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) Pollution Prevention Program works to leverage the buying power of large institutions in order to expand the market for "greener" electronic products that encourages the development of a sustainable, socially responsible production system in the electronics sector. Currently the Pollution Prevention Program is focused on the health care sector, partnering with the Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) campaign, to encourage SF Bay Area hospitals and national health care organizations to adopt more environmentally preferable purchasing, management and disposal practices for their electronic equipment. CEH also provides purchasing assistance to institutions from other sectors such as government and private industry, partnering with other coalitions such as the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC). CEH integrates the resources and expertise of ETBC in electronics with the experience and knowledge of HCWH in procurement in order to influence the purchasing decisions of large institutions in healthcare, government and academia towards more environmentally responsible electronics. Contact Sue Chiang, Pollution Prevention Program Director, 510.655.3900 x311, sue[at]cehca.org or Judy Levin, Pollution Prevention Program Coordinator, 510.655.3900 x316, judy[at]cehca.org with any questions.

Article by June Ng, 6/12/09 edition of HK Magazine. "Every year Hong Kong produces more and more harmful electronic waste, but we only have a voluntary e-waste recycling scheme." Discusses e-waste problem from Hong Kong's perspective; includes some statistics specific for Hong Kong on electronic device use, as well as e-waste generation, recycling and fate.

IT companies bring technological advancement at a great pace. With the growing technology, various issues like global warming, carbon emissions etc are affecting the environment and cause serious harm to human health. In order to implement energy efficient technology, green computing comes into picture. Know how IT Companies can contribute towards the green computing movement.

CEH report, Oct. 2006. In the past few years, the storm of complaints about UNICOR's recycling program from prisoners, prison guards, and others has brought these hidden sweatshops into public view. Since 1994, UNICOR has built a lucrative business that employs prisoners to recycle electronic waste (e-waste). A massive array of ewaste is largely hidden from view, as are the workers who handle the waste. Over 100,000 computers become obsolete in the U.S. every day. E-waste includes computers, personal digital assistants, TVs, and other electronic devices. E-waste is a doubleedged sword: it is rich in precious materials that can be recycled, but it also contains a cocktail of hazardous chemicals such as lead, mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and cadmium. This report examines the e-waste recycling programs run by Federal Prison Industries (FPI), a government-owned corporation that does business under the trade name UNICOR.