ODATE, JP -- Many small pieces can add up to a big whole, and one small city in
the north of Japan is finding there's money in the process as
well.
Odate, a city of about 80,000 people in Akita Prefecture, on the
northern end of Honshu, the big island of Japan, has begun diverting small
electronics from landfills and using the town's mining history to salvage
precious metals from the waste.
By putting collection bins outside
supermarkets and community centers, the city gathering about 17 tons of e-waste
in 11 months, from April 2007 to February 2008, according to a
report from Harufumi Mori
in Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
The gadgets collected range from broken appliances to hair dryers to cell phones
-- all too small to fall under the scope of recycling laws in
Japan.
Although they're small, they're far from worthless, the city is
finding. After looking through just over one-third of the waste, Mori reports
that the city might find as much as half a kilogram of tantalum, one kilogram of
gold, and as much as 4 kilograms of silver and palladium. All from less than one
year of collections in one city among a gadget-crazy country with over 127
million residents.
As a former mining town, Odate is well equipped to
harvest precious metals from e-waste.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- More than 500 people gathered Monday for the State of Green Business Forum in San Francisco, an all-day event that marked the release of the State of Green Business 2009 report from the editors of GreenBiz.com. The report attempts to measure the adoption of green business practices in the U.S.
The Forum featured more than a dozen industry leaders to bring various aspects of the report to life: water management, green jobs, innovation and energy efficiency. GreenBiz.com Executive Editor Joel Makower also assembled a panel of advisors of President Barack Obama to discuss the new administration and its efforts to jumpstart a green economy.
In opening up the forum, Makower presented an overview of the finding of this year's report: in a nutshell, companies are doing OK, but there's plenty of room for improvement.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- More than 500 people gathered Monday for the State of Green Business Forum in San Francisco, an all-day event that marked the release of the State of Green Business 2009 report from the editors of GreenBiz.com. The report attempts to measure the adoption of green business practices in the U.S.
The Forum featured more than a dozen industry leaders to bring various aspects of the report to life: water management, green jobs, innovation and energy efficiency. GreenBiz.com Executive Editor Joel Makower also assembled a panel of advisors of President Barack Obama to discuss the new administration and its efforts to jumpstart a green economy.
In opening up the forum, Makower presented an overview of the finding of this year's report: in a nutshell, companies are doing OK, but there's plenty of room for improvement.
Welcome to the Consumer Reports' Electronics Reuse & Recycling Center. Here you'll find solutions for dealing with your old Computer, Cell phone, TV and Other electronics, plus tips for buying new electronics that may last longer. You'll also find information about the growing problem of E-waste and what government and industry are doing to address it.
As more organizations worldwide come to see the value of investing in eco-friendlier hardware, PC vendors are jockeying for the right to lay claim to the greenest wares. Proving a central weapon in this battle is the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry. Plenty of companies are finding the tool invaluable for finding green machines that meet their particular needs. The problem is, some vendors -- intentionally or otherwise -- might be abusing the system to make themselves and their wares look greener.
Technology is a trend that will never go out of date. Every day is a new day for technology - you find a newly launched tech-device turning into a craze or a new smartphone catching the consumer's eye. Due to this disrupted mindset of consumers and many other reasons, e-waste management has become a global issue. Find out some of the opportunities that lie in this problem.
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) web site that helps consumers locate electronics recyclers in their area (search by address or ZIP code). Also provides tips for reducing e-waste production and energy consumption, including an "Energy Consumption Calculator" that estimates electricity used by electronic devices and the associated cost by minute, day, month and year. Information on corporate recycling programs, electronics recycling FAQs, resources for electronics reuse, and environmentally preferable purchasing tips are also provided. A form is available for electronics recyclers to submit their company information for inclusion in the recycler database.
Regulations governing disposal of electronic waste can reduce the world's mountains of recycled devices, says Professor Erica Plambeck. She and her coauthor also find that by encouraging manufacturers to slow the rate of new product introductions, consumers are willing to pay more for devices now on the shelves.
Cheshire, UK (PRWEB) September 18, 2009 -- A search has been launched today to find 10 talented TV hopefuls to star in a major television advertising campaign to promote mobile phone recycling.
SEATTLE - A new state law that helps you get rid of your old electronics for
free is hurting charities.
Charities can no longer fix up old equipment to reuse it, but a brand new
bill headed to the state legislature Wednesday could bring some relief.
Representative Zack Hudgins' new bill aims to allow electronics collectors to
make minor repairs so they can reuse old electronics.
The current law is a problem for charities like Interconnection in Seattle.
Since the new recycling law went into affect on January 1st, they now have to
throw away hundreds of computers that could be put to good use.
At Interconnection, you'll find trained hands tinkering with donated
computers.
Great Green Gadget's main purpose is to find interesting articles on the web
about gadgets, big and small, that promote environmental concerns. Our value is
that we provide the best links and information- by doing this service we help to
weed out less useful search engine results and provide useful research that help
to better understand an issue. Or perhaps you will just marvel at some new
eco-friendly device.
Oregon e-Cycles has
a great website
up for consumers to help guide them through the whys and
hows of e-cycling. If you live in the area, simply
type in your zip
code
and you're given a listing of local collection points. Oregon has
another item that will launch next New Year's Day: on January 1, 2010, disposal
of computers, monitors and TVs
will be banned
.
Also launching on this New Years Day was
Washington's new
program
letting people drop off certain e-waste items for free. They too
have a
search database for
finding a local drop-off point
, as well as a call-in hotline.
The
Electronics TakeBack Coalition
provides several excellent Consumer Guides that walk you through just how you go
about finding a recycling facility for your old electronics. It can be
worrisome, since you have to be careful your device is going to a
responsible recycler
and not someone who will ship it overseas to an unregulated and often highly
toxic facility.
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.
Thousands of televisions, computers, cellphones and other electronic gadgets
will be relegated to obsolete status during the holiday season as gift-giving
brings new technology to homes across the country.
Some of those "old" electronics will find a second life through donations or
recycling programs, but most will sit in basements or drawers before being sent
to landfill or exported overseas.
"It's a growing problem," said Shirley Thompson, an assistant professor at
the University of Manitoba Natural Resources Institute.
"These items contain toxic metals and other chemicals and often they are
ending up in landfills."
7/18/09 article from The Times [of London] on the problem of illegal e-waste trade and unsafe e-waste processing in Ghana. Article contains the following statistics: "Even in the European Union, which has some of the most stringent controls, an estimated 75 per cent of e-waste is unaccounted for. Most of this, an estimated 8.5 million tonnes a year, is believed to be finding its way to unofficial dumps in West Africa."
Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC) report card providing the organization's grades for television manufacturer/retailers based upon availability and scope of television take back recycling programs offered; the volume & visibility of those programs; public policy on recycling; and how responsible the offered recycling is. The full report can be downloaded from this URL in PDF format. Site also includes an explanation of the grading system, a chart showing the number of collection sites for each company, a link to the previous year's report, and information on how to find a local responsible recycler (U.S.A.). Individual company names can be clicked on to download the the company's individual report card.
If you are interested in wholesale Apple Shape iPhones, you will find what you want here. Choose the type of shape you like. Our China wholesale online shopping store provides you with OEM Hiphones at low wholesale prices. We also offer drop shipping service. All the products are from the best Chinese manufacturers and in good quality and cheap price.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have introduced legislation that would promote research and development of programs to improve the recycling of electronic equipment. The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act would provide research grants to find ways to deal with electronic waste, much of which contains hazardous materials including lead and cadmium.
Millions of printed circuit boards from discarded electronics are tossed into landfills every year. In addition to the volume of waste, the material can leach chemicals into the soil. As an alternative, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China are finding various ways to reuse the panels, including as an additive in asphalt.