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In November, not two weeks after winning the election and still two months from becoming commander in chief, Barack Obama brought the government into the 21st century. Or at least that was what we were told when he released his first Web video address as president-elect. The clip, billed by some as a modern fireside chat, was embedded as a YouTube video on Change.gov, the incoming administration's Web site. Sitting in a leather chair, framed slightly off center from his chest up, Obama delivered a three-minute talk on the economic crisis, vlog style.In November, not two weeks after winning the election and still two months from becoming commander in chief, Barack Obama brought the government into the 21st century. Or at least that was what we were told when he released his first Web video address as president-elect. The clip, billed by some as a modern fireside chat, was embedded as a YouTube video on Change.gov, the incoming administration's Web site. Sitting in a leather chair, framed slightly off center from his chest up, Obama delivered a three-minute talk on the economic crisis, vlog style.

ECS Refining was founded in 1980 as an electronic scrap and solder dross recycling facility servicing primarily the Silicon Valley. From a lone facility in Santa Clara, California, ECS has established a reputation of environmental leadership in the refining of secondary metals by offering unique capabilities to develop environmentally responsible recycling options for businesses. ECS Refining was founded in 1980 as an electronic scrap and solder dross recycling facility servicing primarily the Silicon Valley. From a lone facility in Santa Clara, California, ECS has established a reputation of environmental leadership in the refining of secondary metals by offering unique capabilities to develop environmentally responsible recycling options for businesses.

More than 20,000 computers and televisions were dropped off at Canberra's tips over the weekend as part of a free e-waste disposal scheme. There were line-ups at all three drop off points. Shipping containers at the Tuggeranong site was full by early Sunday morning. It usually costs nearly $40 to dispose of a computer and a monitor but thanks to Apple, that fee was waived for the two days

Oregon and Washington have collected almost 5 million pounds of electronic waste since their free recycling programs went into effect in January. The free recycling applies to TVs, monitors and computers, both desktops and laptops. Oregon reported about 1.5 million pounds collected in January, ahead of the 12.2 million pounds projected for the year. Washington said residents brought in slightly less than 3.3 million pounds, establishing a pace that would far exceed the state's projection of 25 million pounds for 2009. Officials, however, expect the pace to taper off a bit. People appeared to stockpile a large amount of electronics while waiting for the program to start Jan. 1. "Our recyclers told us they were just inundated at first," said Kathy Kiwala, manager of Oregon's electronics program for the Department of Environmental Quality. "The activity continues to be strong but not like it was the first two weeks," she said. Oregon and Washington have collected almost 5 million pounds of electronic waste since their free recycling programs went into effect in January. The free recycling applies to TVs, monitors and computers, both desktops and laptops. Oregon reported about 1.5 million pounds collected in January, ahead of the 12.2 million pounds projected for the year. Washington said residents brought in slightly less than 3.3 million pounds, establishing a pace that would far exceed the state's projection of 25 million pounds for 2009. Officials, however, expect the pace to taper off a bit. People appeared to stockpile a large amount of electronics while waiting for the program to start Jan. 1. "Our recyclers told us they were just inundated at first," said Kathy Kiwala, manager of Oregon's electronics program for the Department of Environmental Quality. "The activity continues to be strong but not like it was the first two weeks," she said.

Conceived during the second world war by Marcel Mennesson and Maurice Goudard, the Solex was marketed in 1946. In the difficult context of the post-war period, France in rebuilding is looking for an economic mean of transport which doesn't need a lot of energy.The Solex, whose selling price is lower than the minimum wage and whose energy consumption is very low, corresponds perfectly to these two requirements. While cars are starting their appearance, the Solex represents a mass mean of transport. Thus, it will become a legend by occupying a place of first order in the history of popular motorization. Seducing by its cost, its safety, its simplicity and its sobriety, it will be used as well for leisures as for daily ways. With an easy employment, economic and reliable, the Solex quickly met a large success : 8 million specimens were sold between 1946 and 1988 in France and all around the world. Conceived during the second world war by Marcel Mennesson and Maurice Goudard, the Solex was marketed in 1946. In the difficult context of the post-war period, France in rebuilding is looking for an economic mean of transport which doesn't need a lot of energy.The Solex, whose selling price is lower than the minimum wage and whose energy consumption is very low, corresponds perfectly to these two requirements. While cars are starting their appearance, the Solex represents a mass mean of transport. Thus, it will become a legend by occupying a place of first order in the history of popular motorization. Seducing by its cost, its safety, its simplicity and its sobriety, it will be used as well for leisures as for daily ways. With an easy employment, economic and reliable, the Solex quickly met a large success : 8 million specimens were sold between 1946 and 1988 in France and all around the world.

It's Christmas morning, and there beneath the tree was your new television, sleek and digital. Or maybe it was a new computer. Or the newest electronic gee-whiz gadget. All well and good, but what are you going to do with the old equipment it replaces? Most people - about 88 percent according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - simply toss so-called e-waste into the trash. Given the heavy metals and other toxic substances such equipment contains, that's obviously a bad idea, says the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a national consortium of environmental and consumer groups. But, in some cases, doing the seemingly responsible thing - hauling outmoded equipment to a recycler - is as bad as junking it, warned Barbara Kyle, the group's national coordinator. Often, she said, "recycled" electronics are shipped to processors in developing countries, who use primitive techniques to extract valuable metals.

It's Christmas morning, and there beneath the tree was your new television, sleek and digital. Or maybe it was a new computer. Or the newest electronic gee-whiz gadget. All well and good, but what are you going to do with the old equipment it replaces? Most people - about 88 percent according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - simply toss so-called e-waste into the trash. Given the heavy metals and other toxic substances such equipment contains, that's obviously a bad idea, says the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a national consortium of environmental and consumer groups. But, in some cases, doing the seemingly responsible thing - hauling outmoded equipment to a recycler - is as bad as junking it, warned Barbara Kyle, the group's national coordinator. Often, she said, "recycled" electronics are shipped to processors in developing countries, who use primitive techniques to extract valuable metals.

AP Report: KOMO News \ A free computer and TV recycling program starts Jan. 2 in Washington. The "E-cycle Washington" program was created by the Legislature. It's funded by manufacturers who sell electronics in the state. More than 200 sites are being readied at existing recyclers, retail stores and nonprofit agencies such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. Based on other states, organizers expect to recycle 13,000 tons of old computers and TVs next year. A free computer and TV recycling program starts Jan. 2 in Washington. The "E-cycle Washington" program was created by the Legislature. It's funded by manufacturers who sell electronics in the state. More than 200 sites are being readied at existing recyclers, retail stores and nonprofit agencies such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. Based on other states, organizers expect to recycle 13,000 tons of old computers and TVs next year. Check out the comments made by the audience regarding this story.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted in Basel, Switzerland on 22 March 1989. The Convention was initiated in response to numerous international scandals regarding hazardous waste trafficking that began to occur in the late 1980s. The Convention entered into force on 5 May 1992 and today has its Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. BAN web page. Includes country status table; text of the treaty in English, French & Spanish; Conference of the Parties Reports; Competent Authorities list; and a link to the Basel Secretariat.

This study, the first to investigate workplace contamination in areas in Ghana where e-waste recycling and disposal is carried out, focussed on the main centre for this type of work, at the Agbogbloshie scrap market in Ghana's capital, Accra. One of the numerous similar, though far smaller, operations that take place throughout Ghana was also investigated, at the location of a scrap dealer in Korforidua, a smaller city to the north of Accra. At these workshops, e-waste is recycled in a crude way, primarily involving manual disassembly and open burning to isolate copper from plastics. Much of the work is carried out by children, commonly using only rudimentary tools and with no protective equipment.

A company that picks up electronics, destroys the data, then recycles the part. It has a no landfill policy. The owner was featured in a Washington Post article.

Attero Recycling was born in February 2008. Even before setting up the plant and starting operations, they managed to raise $6.3 million from VC firms NEA-IndoUS Venture and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

shopgoodwill.com is the first Internet auction site created, owned and operated by a nonprofit organization. It was created and is operated by Goodwill of Orange County (Santa Ana, CA). Participating Goodwill's from across the country offer for auction on the site a wide array of art, antiques and collectibles as well as new and nearly new items pulled from their vast inventories of donated goods. From unique one-of-a-kind items to estate pieces, the depth of resources is enormous. Revenues from these auction sales fund Goodwill's education, training and job placement programs for people with disabilities and other barriers.

The green revolution was a major focus Wednesday morning, as it has been throughout CES so far. LG announced that its 2009 HDTVs are being designed to achieve the newest Energy Star 3.0 rating. The company is rolling out the "Life's Green 2020" initiative, which will cut greenhouse gas emissions by two points in the product lifecycle -- in the manufacturing process, where the company aims to cut emissions by 150 kilotons/year by 2020, and with the products themselves, for an additional decrease of 30 megatons/year by 2020. One of the few products to get more than a few sentences of introduction may be coming to your town soon, but it's not likely you're in the market. The LG Skycharger, a solar- and wind-powered charging station, can handle up to 104 phones (of various makes, not only LG) in its lockable cubbyholes, dispensing up to 1.8 kilowatts of power among them. Drop a gadget off and it'll be charged in about an hour; unused power goes into the station's battery bank in case it gets both calm and dark. Who's buying? Think large outdoor venues...or disaster-recovery agencies. The Skycharger will, according to the company, be making a US tour in 2009. It's the first of its kind in the nation.

With little scrutiny or controversy, Lisa Jackson was confirmed by the Senate late last night to head the Environmental Protection Agency after a confirmation hearing where criticisms of Jackson's tenure as head of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were given short shrift. In her first move as EPA chief, Jackson pledged to make science "the backbone for EPA programs [1]." In a memo sent to EPA employees today, Jackson said that reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing chemical risks, cleaning up hazardous waste and protecting America's water would receive her personal attention.

Sharp Electronics Corporation today announced that it has established a nationwide electronics program to provide consumers with no-cost, convenient recycling of Sharp televisions and other consumer audio and video products. Beginning January 15, 2009 Sharp will expand its current recycling program to 280 sites nationwide, including at least one location in all 50 states, with hundreds more sites planned over the next three years. Sharp's recycling program will utilize the infrastructure developed by the Electronics Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM). A joint venture between Panasonic, Sharp Electronics and Toshiba, MRM was established in September of 2007 to efficiently manage collection and recycling programs for electronics manufacturers in the United States.

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 Washington bill is what other states wanted,'' said Scott Cassel, executive of the Product Stewardship Institute. Requiring manufacturers to cover the collection and recycling costs will encourage them to design greener products that are less toxic and easier to recycle, he said. ``Here is a state that took a careful, methodical and comprehensive approach and considered various options,'' Cassel said. ``Now state residents will have an electronics recycling system that will become the gold standard for the country.'' A wide and diverse group backed the bill, which also had bipartisan support. Computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., Seattle electronics recycler Total Reclaim Inc., and retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com supported the bill. But the bill was far from receiving unanimous backing from electronics manufacturers. The Electronic Industries Alliance communicated its concerns with Washington's legislation. The group, along with 18 of its member companies, such as Dell Inc., IBM Corp. and Apple Computer Inc., did not support the bill. The law does not implement a shared responsibility approach. But rather, it extends the manufacturers' responsibility to finance the end of the life of their products, according to the EIA's remarks to the Washington Legislature. Such a system is inefficient, the group said, and will result in increased costs for Washington consumers.

``The Washington bill is what other states wanted,'' said Scott Cassel, executive of the Product Stewardship Institute. Requiring manufacturers to cover the collection and recycling costs will encourage them to design greener products that are less toxic and easier to recycle, he said. ``Here is a state that took a careful, methodical and comprehensive approach and considered various options,'' Cassel said. ``Now state residents will have an electronics recycling system that will become the gold standard for the country.'' A wide and diverse group backed the bill, which also had bipartisan support. Computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., Seattle electronics recycler Total Reclaim Inc., and retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com supported the bill. But the bill was far from receiving unanimous backing from electronics manufacturers. The Electronic Industries Alliance communicated its concerns with Washington's legislation. The group, along with 18 of its member companies, such as Dell Inc., IBM Corp. and Apple Computer Inc., did not support the bill. The law does not implement a shared responsibility approach. But rather, it extends the manufacturers' responsibility to finance the end of the life of their products, according to the EIA's remarks to the Washington Legislature. Such a system is inefficient, the group said, and will result in increased costs for Washington consumers.