Here it is the culmination of this semester long project boiled down to a video.  I could not define Electronic Waste before this semester, now my eyes have been wide open to a devastating problem that the United States has been too willing to ignore.  The amount of electronic waste that the world produces in a single year is staggering. “Some 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide every year” (Computer TakeBack Campaign). In the United States of the 2.63 million tons of electronic waste less than 10% is actually recycled in a responsible manner.  There is a ‘green’ movement with everyone around our country wanting to jump on the bandwagon and claim they are being responsible.  With the move from analog to digital in less than nine months, what will this country do with the millions of analog television sets that will instantly become obsolete?  Citizens of the United States must take action and not sit quietly by while our consumption and desire for the latest technological advancements sends our electronic waste to developing countries in dire need of real change, of a real social movement that changes their very livelihood not just a feel good solution for ourselves.

60 would be from Asia

14 would be from Africa

12 would be from Europe

EIGHT would be from Latin America

FIVE would be from the USA and Canada

ONE would be from the South Pacific

51 would be male

49 would be female

82 would be non-white

18 would be white

67 would be non-Christian

33 would be Christian

80 would live in substandard housing

67 would be unable to read

50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation

33 would be without access to a safe water supply

39 would lack access to improved sanitation

24 would not have electricity

Of the 76 that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night

SEVEN people have access to the Internet

ONE would have a college education

ONE would have HIV

TWO would be near birth; ONE near death

FIVE people would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all FIVE would be US Citizens

33 would be receiving – and attempting to live on – only THREE PERCENT of the income of the ‘village’

I recently spoke with Ron Redman, Program Support Supervisor 2 – Surplus Stores for Facilities Operations Waste Management to find out what WSU did with electronic items that did not sale at Surplus Stores Auctions. Mr. Redman explained that computer monitors, printers, copy machines, keyboards and televisions are sent to Total Reclaim Environmental Services in Seattle.  

Total Reclaim was created in 1990 to help government and industrial agencies comply with the amendments to the Clean Air Act. After developing the first EPA certified reclaimer of refrigerant gasses in the Pacific Northwest and creating EcoLights Northwest for proper management and recycling of mercury bearing light tubes and both PCB and non-PCB ballasts, Total Reclaim turned its focus to Electronic Waste in 1999.

Mr. Redman also explained how work study students are hired to strip computer towers down to their components which are also auctioned as scrap, including the copper wire found in the power supplies.  The circuit boards and processors are sent to Hallmark Refining Corporation in Mt Vernon where the precious metals can be reclaimed and refined.

What is left after this process is the scrap metal which is sent to Lewiston, Idaho and a small amount of plastic.  Very little if any components are actually trashed.

This information is not readily available on the WSU website due to limited resources. The website is not a top priority for Plant Services as they want to ensure all that can possibly be done to maintain environmental responsibility is done.

Go Cougs!

This post will have little to do with electronic waste.  I had the opportunity to spend 8 days in Mexico this past week, four in Aguascalientes (population close to 100,000) and 4 in Mexico City (one of the largest cities in the world).  This was a family vacation for my uncle’s wedding, not sitting on the beach sipping strawberry margaritas.  I had the opportunity to really see Mexico and what life is like and I can honestly say that there are too many things I take for granted, flushing the toilet for example.  There is not enough water pressure in the public water and sewer systems for the toilets to flush toilet paper. The paper goes in a little waste basket next to the toilet.  That took some getting used to and it wasn’t just the house we stayed in.  Most public bathrooms did not even have toilet paper available.  I knew enough not to drink the water and there was a case of bottled water for our family to drink.  Recycling is a way of life for us but in Aguascalientes everything is thrown away.  There is no curbside recycling program.  My uncle told us that people do not pay homeowner’s taxes until their property is complete. Most homes we saw had pieces of rebar jutting out of the roof as a way to avoid paying taxes, less tax revenue meant a struggling infrastructure which we saw everywhere we went.

I live in the country on a 40 plus acre farm. Everywhere we went from Aguascalientes to Mexico City, houses were built either touching each other or with less than a foot of space in between.  There was maybe a 3 foot patch of green grass in front of the house but many families used that space to park their vehicles.  I thought gas was relatively cheap in Mexico around $1.80/gallon.  We saw only one brand of gas, Pemex, which is owned and operated by the Mexican government.   My uncle’s new family operates a series of private schools, one in Aguascalientes, one in Pachuca, and one in Mexico City.  All three schools teach courses in English and Spanish.  The mother of the family grew frustrated with the lack of accountability within the Mexican public schools and developed a private school first in Mexico City.  With violence growing in Mexico City and fear for their safety, the family moved to Aguascalientes about 10 years ago and built a private elementary school there.  The school in Pachuca is also for elementary age students (they start kindergarten when children are only 3 years old!). I flipped through a workbook for the kindergarten class and they are learning things American students won’t learn until the 2^nd or 3^rd grade!  

My uncle’s niece was our tour guide for our visit; she is attending college and will study abroad in Spain next semester working on a degree in Public Relations. I asked her what her feelings were regarding the Zapatista.  She honestly felt they no longer existed.  She explained that she felt the Mexican government used the Zapatistas as a scapegoat, blaming domestic issues on the Zapatistas, if the economy was bad it was because of the Zapatistas for example.  When they first came out she felt they were fighting for good things, workers’ rights and less government control but felt their existence had faded, along with their power. 

My grandparents (in their 80s) and I hiked to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun (The third largest in the world) which was built by the Aztecs.  We toured the National Museum of Anthropology within the Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. We also saw the basaltic prisms in Hidalgo.  It was an adventure to say the least!

·        Shredded Paper

·        White Paper

·        Newspaper

·        Plastic

·        Glass

·        Cardboard

·        Privacy Act Material

·        Purges 

In fact under the link for New Program Information batteries falls under the list of items that are not accepted. It is only after you do a search for electronic waste that at the bottom of the list of possible results do you find the Environmental Health and Safety services website which explains how departments on campus can recycle batteries.  I still haven’t found a place that explains the policy for WSU on electronic waste from computers and other electronic equipment. It seems that WSU is not interested in making it easy for departments on campus to be environmentally responsible.  The search continues.

By January 1, 2009 manufacturers of electronic products must make product recycling services available free of charge to businesses, residents and local governments in Washington State.  WAC 173-900 Washington’s electronic products recycling program requires a convenient, safe and economical system for recycling electronic products. The system encourages electronics to be designed using less toxic chemicals and that are more recyclable.   

States Which Have Passed E-Waste Producer Responsibility Laws according to the Electronice Take Bake Coalition:

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Oregon
• New Jersey
• New York CITY
• North Carolina
• Texas
• Washington

My home state of Idaho has not passed any legislation and there is no legislation pending but Idaho is not alone.  Take a moment and make a difference, lets put democracy in action and contact our elected officials.

States without E-Waste Legislation either on the books or under consideration for 2008:

Everyone knows about fair trade coffee, most of us have heard of fair trade chocolate but what about fair trade electronics?  That’s right United Pepper (http://www.unitedpepper.org) has developed webcams and USB hubs that not only respect the planet but are energy efficient and made of recyclable materials, even their packaging is environmentally friendly.  Lili – the 1.3 megapixil webcam with a built-in microphone, and Oscar – featuring four USB 2.0 hubs – were designed in Belgium and are manufactured in Vietnam.  United Pepper only uses partners who adhere to fair-trade criteria including:

• Quality working conditions where workers are safe and comfortable
• Workers are paid a fair price for their work to ensure development and growth of workshops
• Workers can improve their social and working conditions through social representation
• No child labor and equality between men and women
• Use a direct supply chain between producer and consumer, no middle man
• United Pepper focuses on local production by local people to improve their quality of life

Look for Lili and Oscar in the United States soon!