E-Tech Recycling

Switching to the Recycling Channel

Area Girds for Digital TV Changeover
By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 26, 2008; Page D01

A stack of old television sets towered above Tim Webster as he put his own dust-covered, 20-year-old set onto the heap. He had replaced it with a new flat-screen TV and decided it was time to part with his old living-room companion.

We were just waiting to see if this one had any use and, it turns out, it really doesn’t,” said Webster, who lives in Arlington. “It was time to move on.”

Recycling centers and landfills across the country are preparing for a surge of unwanted sets in coming months. Next February, most TV broadcasts will be available only in digital form. As a result, sets that rely on antennas to receive over-the-air analog signals will no longer work on their own. At the same time, prices of digital TV sets continue to drop, luring consumers to upgrade.

“I think a lot of people are going to use the digital switch as a reason to buy a new TV,” said Barbara Kyle, national coordinator for the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which runs a campaign urging electronics manufacturers to collect old TV sets from consumers and recycle them for free. “The question is what happens to all the TVs people are getting rid of.”

Last year, about 68 million TVs were thrown out, given away or recycled, according to the Consumer Electronics Association’s estimates. That number could grow this year: About 14 million households rely on over-the-air broadcasts, according to the Nielsen Co.

Tossing the old TV isn’t an analog user’s only option. Consumers can purchase converter boxes, which generally cost $40 to $100, to translate the digital signal back to analog, allowing people to keep using their current sets. They can apply for government-sponsored coupons worth $40 to help pay for the converters. Subscribers to cable or satellite services will not have to do anything to continue watching TV on older analog sets.

Webster said he considered getting a converter box for his old TV but instead decided to spring for a digital set because the prices have become more affordable.

He was one of hundreds of Arlington residents who dropped off a total of 16,500 pounds of discarded TVs for recycling last Saturday at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. The county, which holds recycling events twice a year to collect electronics, household hazardous waste and other hard-to-dispose-of items, took in a record number of TVs to be dismantled and recycled.

Electronics pose environmental threats because they contain hazardous chemicals, including mercury in batteries, cadmium in displays and toxins in circuit boards. Old-style TVs and computer monitors with cathode ray tubes, or CRTs, contain between four and eight pounds of lead. Environmentalists say such substances can be harmful when buried in landfills, potentially leaching toxins into groundwater supplies.

Many municipalities have set up recycling sites and hold events specifically geared toward electronics, including cellphones, computers, stereos and VCRs. Bulky TVs are not always accepted, partly because they are more expensive to transport and recycle. Consumers often have to pay a fee of $10 to $50 to recycle a TV, which creates an economic incentive for them to toss it into the landfill.

Some regions are anticipating a 30 percent increase in the number of TVs dropped off at recycling centers, according to Anne Reichman, program director for Earth 911, an Arizona-based company that helps coordinate recycling efforts across the country.

“We’re seeing retailers provide sales that will entice consumers to upgrade to a better, more energy- efficient, cooler TV,” she said. “But we’re not confident the old TVs aren’t going to landfills.”

An estimated 32 million new televisions are expected to enter U.S. homes this year, while consumers expect to get rid of about 44 million, based on a survey of 1,000 people released this month by the Consumer Electronics Association. The survey indicated that most of those TVs will be sold, donated or recycled rather than thrown in the trash.

A previous survey by the association showed that about 14 percent of antenna-dependent households plan to buy a new digital TV before the transition occurs Feb. 17, 2009. About 60 percent of the 2,000 people surveyed said they intend to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite service to keep using their current TVs.

A dozen states, including Maryland and Virginia, have set up recycling programs for electronics, often requiring manufacturers to contribute to the recycling effort.

This year, Virginia passed a law requiring all manufacturers doing business in the state to help fund recycling programs for computers. But the law, which takes effect in July 2009, does not include TVs or other electronics.

Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, as well as Alexandria, host regular collection events. In some cases, collection fees are waived for county residents.

In Maryland, electronics manufacturers must pay a fee to do business in the state, which goes toward funding for county recycling programs. Starting this year, counties must accept TVs at their recycling centers to be eligible for state grants.

Seventeen of the state’s 24 counties have set up permanent electronics recycling facilities. Hilary Miller, manager for the Maryland Department of the Environment’s recycling program, said Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Baltimore counties usually collect the largest quantitiesof electronics.

“We don’t envision a serious problem” with an influx of TVs coming to the county facilities, Miller said.

Some TV makers have started their own programs to take back their brand’s TVs and pay to have them safely recycled. Sony said it has collected 6 million pounds of electronics since its program started in September. In response to various state laws, Panasonic, partnering with Toshiba and Sharp, has started holding collection events and last year recycled 3.4 million pounds of TVs.

Mark Sharp, group manager of Panasonic’s Corporate Environmental Department, said the company does not expect a big uptick in sales of new TVs. He added that recycling efforts have improved in recent years.

“We really don’t forecast this deluge of products going into the waste stream” as a result of the digital transition, he said.

Brent Young, director of business development for E-Tech Recycling, which has drop-off centers for electronics in Chantilly and Portland, Ore., said he has seen the largest spike of TVs come in during public collections. He recently collected more than 2,500 pounds of TVs in three hours at an event near Portland.

“I think we’ll see the largest increase before the transition happens in November and December, during the holiday shopping season,” he said.

Tim Felegie of Arlington couldn’t wait that long. When he pulled up to the recycling event last weekend, his 20-year-old Sharp TV, complete with push buttons and faux wood, was in the passenger seat to be dropped off.

Waiting in the car behind him was Mitt Mittendorff, who had bought a new flat-screen and had hauled his old 31-inch TV to be recycled.

“It’s huge, and you have to hit it sharply in the corner sometimes to make it work.”

See article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042503188_pf.html

Local Voice Shares Lean & Green Recycling

The Oregon Electronics Manufacturers Association
Upcoming Events:  E Tech Recycling
March 19, 2008

E Tech is our local computer and electronics recycling company. E Tech advocates against dumping electronic equipment in landfills and thus maintaining our role as environmental stewards. We hear many buzz words concerning being “green” in our industry. E-Tech has looked beyond this green theme to “eco-sustainability”. What does this mean? This is the key to disposal of your electronic equipment and of facilities management, asset management and sustaining solutions for your company.  E-Tech can take outdated assets, also called e-waste, and complete the downstream dispersion of this electronic equipment. This due diligence safeguards our business and avoids complicating our local landfills.

Recycle computers and help
Cub Pack 566/Den 1

Hillsboro News in Brief
Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Cub Scouts Pack 566/Den 1 is hosting a computer and electronic equipment recycling event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 6, at E-Tech Recycling 1600 NE 25th Avenue, Suite E, Hillsboro.

For a small donation you can have your obsolete equipment disposed of properly. Proceeds to benefit Pack 566/Den1 scouts.

Most electronic items will be accepted. For a complete list of recyclable items call E-Tech Recycling at 503-693-8939.

Recycling electronics through E-Tech

Local
By George Gill
Source: Times Community Newspapers
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 2006
UPDATED MONDAY, JUNE 4 2007

The business’ warehouse has several sorted piles of CRT monitors, power supplies, computer cases, peripheral cards and circuit boards from dismantled computers dropped off for recycling.

“One thing I would like to say to the public is, ‘Don’t throw your electronic stuff out in the garbage,’” said Krissy Luke, account manager at the Sterling E-Tech site. “The No. 1 thing is, we don’t want anything hazardous going into the landfill.”

Some components of electronic devices may contain constituents that if improperly handled could be harmful to the environment.

Certain components may contain small amounts of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act-regulated heavy metals, including lead, silver, barium, cadmium and mercury. Many of these metals can be recovered and recycled by de-manufacturing and recycling of electronic devices.

Luke moved to the Northern Virginia area about six months ago. “I looked around to see if the county had anything in terms of local recycling vendors,” she said. “They don’t really have any.”

She said the location seemed like a great place to start the business. “We’re surrounded by lots of companies, government agencies and schools,” she said. “So it’s a great area to be around. Local residents are coming out and dropping off stuff, too.”

E-Tech Recycling’s first location opened in Oregon two years ago.

Items

E-tech handles all forms of electronic technology:

computers

monitors

telephone and communications equipment, including cell phones and cordless phones

videocassette recorders

DVD players

televisions

cable equipment

circuit boards

servers

most other electronic items.

Kitchen appliances are not accepted, Luke added.

There is a nominal fee for turning most items in to E-tech for recycling. Luke said to call to check for the current fees on specific items.

E-Tech will accept cell phones and computer accessories such as keyboards, mouse, wires, cables and the like for free. CPUs are accepted free in quantities up to three at a time. Beyond that number there is a $3 fee.

Luke said E-Tech has gotten a positive response from Loudoun County government. “They get frequent calls from local people asking where they can drop off stuff, and they refer individuals to us,” she said.

Most of what E-Tech receives in Sterling are CRT monitors and computer CPUs.

“With computers we do take out motherboards and peripherals,” she said. “Anything to do with CPUs, we do all that kind of stuff here.”

She said the largest item they’ve received so far was a huge old photocopier machine.

“I’m really excited to see what will come through the store. I’m sure tons of stuff will be very interesting.”
Remarketing

With business customers, Luke said, any time E-tech can remarket entire used computer systems or components for a reasonable profit, it will share in the profit with the business that turned its equipment over to E-Tech.

The company tries to place the equipment wherever it will be most beneficial, including at other businesses, schools or nonprofit charities.
Records

E-Tech will check, identify and log the condition of each item, no matter its condition or type.

Each piece of equipment is tracked as it is either disposed of, disassembled, remanufactured, remarketed or destroyed.
Confidentiality

With each piece of computer or technology equipment received, E-tech removes all labels and identifying marks having anything to do with the donating company. All data needing to be removed is deleted using procedures and guidelines set down throughout the industry that comply with the U.S. Department of Defense erasure standards.

This applies to all media, whether hard drive, tape, floppy, CD, DVD or other memory storage formats.

If absolute destruction is necessary, E-tech will also render the items unusable.

If individuals need proof data was erased, E-Tech can for a modest fee mail them a certificate stating the model and serial number of the item.
Recycling

If parts are not reusable and not considered hazardous, E-tech dismantles and separates them into plastics and metals, which are given to the appropriate vendors for further smelting and shredding.

Luke said the company is also trying to gets its name out in Fairfax and other neighboring counties.

“Eventually we’d like to have an e-cycling day where just residents and locals can come and drop things off,” she said.

See this article at:  http://www.loudountimes.com/news/2006/mar/22/recycling-electronics-through-e-tech/

Living Green Expo at OMSI

May 12-13, 2006

Living green means making choices in our day-to-day lives that enhance, rather than just reduce, our impact on the environment. KINK’s Living Green Expo is a two-day event held at OMSI May 12-13 that will feature more than 20 community partners offering information, ideas, resources, and motivation to live green and maintain a more sustainable lifestyle. The event is free with paid general museum admission and will run during regular museum hours 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day.
Exhibitors at this event include; Keith Green Construction, World Forestry Center, Energy Trust, Clif Bar, Chipotle, Classique Floors, Tri-Met, Metro Regional Government and Recycling, Clean Water Services, River City Bicycles, Pioneer Organics, Parr Lumber, Flex Car, Rose City Mortgage, E-Tech Recycling, Dry Cleaning Station, The Platinum Team Keller Williams representing Fieldstone Communities, Terra Clean, Milgard Windows, Mr. Solar, Oregon Environmental Council, Garden Pearls, Pro Grass, Sustainable Business Network, LivingScape Nursery, Green Print, SOLV (Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism), and ECO Quest. Additionally several workshops throughout the weekend will be offered to learn more about solar power, green building, volunteerism and the kid friendly River Rangers program.

KINK has a long history of involvement with environmental issues through our years of broadcasting and community service, from on-air features like Subject: Earth to KINK Considers to our support of SOLV and SOLV IT,” said KINK general manager Stan Mak. “It is a natural step for the station to take by hosting the Living Green Expo as a vehicle to broaden public awareness on this important area.”

A sustainable lifestyle fits with the cycles of nature, has a sound economic base, and respects human, animal and plant life. Impacts of that lifestyle do not compromise the ability of future generations to lead a healthy, quality life. These practices can save us money and time while improving our health and overall quality of life.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry has been a Portland leader in adopting sustainability as a strategic value. OMSI makes its decisions based upon its triple bottom line of environmental, social, and fiscal responsibility. Over the past several years, OMSI incorporated sustainability principles into its operations in four key areas: CO2 emission reduction, waste reduction and prevention, exhibit production, and public education.

KINK has created this inaugural event with the support of presenting sponsors Wentworth Subaru and Energy Star Homes, with additional support from Classique Floors, TriMet, Legend Homes, and Hasson Realtors.

See this article online at:  www.omsi.edu/visit/EventDetail.cfm?ID=93

 Growing Market for Electronic Waste Recycling

Voice of America
Washington, DC
23 May 2006

The business of disposing electronic waste -  or e-waste - is growing as computer usage increases around the world. Electronic obsolescence is responsible for much of the growth.

Every year computers get faster, MP3 players get smaller and display screens get larger.

But this is the flip side of the high tech revolution  -  a growing electronic wasteland.

Alex Fidis, an environmental lawyer for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group says e-waste is now the fastest growing form of trash in the United States.

“Our country generates the most e-waste of any other country in the world and we really need to start dealing with it.”

Americans buy more computers than any other people in the world.  And the computers are replaced, on average, every three years.  Most old computers end up in landfills.  Others - a little more than 10 percent  - go to recycling facilities like this one in Sterling, Virginia.

Here, technicians dismantle old computers for parts, which can be re-used or melted down to obtain gold, copper or lead.

E-Tech recycling manager Krissy Luke says business has been good but admits it could be better. “Honestly I can say I’m breaking even, but I would like to make a profit.”

Ms. Luke says one of the obstacles is that consumer awareness still lags behind the growth in consumer electronics.

And, there are the disposal costs.  For example, recyclers charge between $10 and $20 for the proper disposal of computer monitors, which can contain as much as two kilograms of lead.

Luke adds, “I see a lot of people are really reluctant to pay a $7 [isposal] fee for a monitor, but they should consider that in the future, it will pay off for generations to come.”

But with nearly 50 million tons of e-waste generated globally each year, analysts say the world supply exceeds current recycling capacity.

Fidis, says the waste is often sent outside of U.S. “About 80 percent of the electronic waste that is recycled in the U.S. is actually sent overseas where it ’s supposed to be recycled.  Unfortunately, when it arrives in many countries that its shipped to, only about a quarter of the waste is actually recycled.”

Melting of electronic material could be hazardous
Some of it ends up in landfills in India or dismantled illegally by scrap traders in China.  Many workers here are still unaware of the health risks associated with e-waste, or the ecological damage when chemicals used to make electronic parts seep into groundwater.

But the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets national standards for environmental programs in the U.S., says awareness is growing. Recycling fees are becoming a part of the cost of buying most new televisions and monitors.  Computer makers such as Apple, HP and Dell have launched free computer recycling programs and some European countries recently set new manufacturing standards that would make electronic parts easier to recycle.

See this article on the web at:  www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05/2006-05-23-voa46.cfm?textmode=0

Changes in Recycling Routine

STOP WASTE!
The official Newsletter for Stop Waste!!
Volume 3, Issue 1
Fall 2006
Recently, Beaverton School District (BSD) has developed new methods for recycling Styrofoam and electronics. Styrofoam is now taken directly to Far West Fibers from each school, instead of the maintenance yard. It may take a little longer, but this saves the district money. Please do not include packing peanuts, bubble wrap or foam. Contact your custodian to find out more information about Styrofoam recycling at your school.

Electronic recycling for BSD is now being handled by a new company, E-Tech Recycling, Inc., located in Hillsboro. They recycle a variety of electronic equipment and are very cautious of removing any confidential information prior to recycling it. E-Tech also follows EPA and DEQ standards or electronic recycling.
  

Old electronics plug into new lives Landfills
need old gadgets less than consumers do

By Jodi Helmer
LocalNewsDaily.com, Nov 14, 2006

 Jonathan House / LocalNewsDaily.com

Free Geek volunteers Daisy Morrigan (left) and Jack Nearin dismantle used computers, whose parts are recycled as part of the group’s mission to reduce electronic waste.
 It’s the digital age, which means it’s easier than ever to use high-tech gadgets to check e-mail, surf the Internet, download music, share files and upload pictures.

It also means we need a ton of technological tools to dispose of old laptops, computer monitors, cell phones and television sets.

“New electronic gadgets are coming out every year which makes old electronic gadgets obsolete,” explains Livy Daniels, branch manager for E-Tech Recycling. “Consumers have no idea what to do with their outdated equipment, so a lot of it ends up in the landfills.”

According to the International Association of Electronics Recyclers, there are 1.5 billion pounds of electronic equipment dumped annually and processed into landfills. In the next decade, about 3 billion units of consumer goods will become garbage.

Companies like E-Tech Recycling, a computer and electronics recycling company based in Hillsboro, are trying to change that by encouraging consumers and businesses to start recycling used equipment.

The industry, often known as e-cycling, takes care of everything from disposing of defunct equipment, refurbishing used electronics and deleting data from used computers.

There generally is a fee ranging from $5 to $30 to cover the cost of deconstructing used electronics equipment. Once a computer is disassembled, parts like copper wire, nuts, bolts and circuit boards are sold in bulk.

Free Geek, a nonprofit organization that provides low and no-cost computer equipment to individuals and nonprofit and social-change organizations, accepts all computer equipment whether it is working or not.

The equipment is refurbished and computers are sold, or the parts go to local industrial recyclers such as Quantum Resource Recovery, Metro Metals NW and Hallmark Refining Corp.

“Our mission is to divert electronic waste from the landfill,” says Nathan Bennett, coordinator at Free Geek. “For all the waste that comes in the door, very little goes out.”

Recyclers say no to landfill
Most computer and electronics recycling companies, including E-Tech Recycling and Free Geek, have drop-off hours to accept items like computer monitors, CPUs, scanners, fax machines, telephones, printers, modems, VCRs and DVD players and floppy disks.

E-Tech Recycling also picks up recyclable items from businesses.

“Our goal is to make sure that nothing ends up in the landfill,” Daniels explains. “One of the reasons that we take care of everything from picking up the equipment to recycling the parts is to make sure that computers and electronics are being disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.”

The need for businesses and nonprofits to tackle the problem of e-waste responsibly was underscored when a report prepared for the National Safety Council found that much of the electronics equipment that was turned over for recycling ended up in Asia, where it was either disposed of in landfills or recycled with little regard for the environment or worker health and safety.

According to Daniels, the concept of responsible e-cycling is taking off in Portland.

“Our business has been going strong since we opened it two years ago,” he says. “We get tons of equipment every week from businesses and individuals who want to make sure that their computers are being recycled properly.”

Computer building taught
In the six years since its inception, Free Geek has recycled more than 1,000 tons of electronic equipment and computer systems that now are being used throughout communities across Portland.

In addition to diverting waste from the landfill, Free Geek also uses donated computers and electronics equipment as teaching tools. The organization offers a computer-building program to volunteers, giving them experience in repairing and refurbishing computer equipment.

“It’s a great tactile learning experience that is much more hands-on than most students are getting in the classroom,” Bennett says. “The volunteers gain a job skill and at the end of their volunteer service they can take a computer home for free.”

Free Geek receives approximately 1,200 computers per month. A team of 12 staff members works alongside hundreds of volunteers to refurbish computers or disassemble them and sell them for parts.

A lot of the components end up on the shelves at the Free Geek thrift store where shoppers can purchase refurbished equipment like printers, circuit boards and keyboards for a minimal fee.

“We want to encourage people to reuse as much equipment as possible,” Bennett says. “It gets people thinking about being environmentally conscious, which is what we really want.”

See this article at: www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=116337910776858100