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I have several old computers and monitors to recycle and wanted to know where they go after you get them? I just watched a ‘60 Minutes’ that featured a company from
Colorado now under
government investigation for sending some materials to China. I want to do the right thing even if that means holding on to these until the U.S. figures out what to do with our trash!
— Glory Crenshaw
Thanks for writing, Glory. That “60 Minutes” story was indeed shocking, especially since we have known about this issue as a society for many years. Exporting
our toxic waste to other countries is simply unethical.
For those who didn’t catch the “60 Minutes” story, it highlighted a company from Englewood, Executive Recycling, that collected used computers and TVs for recycling and shipped some of those materials to China. Oh, and they pledged just the opposite — that they would not ship materials there.
These shipping containers sent to China were likely destined for an underground and unregulated “salvage” yard, where workers use open fires and strong acids to extract the valuable materials, letting unchecked toxic pollution into the air and water and their bodies.
(Company officials told the Rocky Mountain News they didn’t know why the waste shipment wound up in Hong Kong.)
Sadly, even in this day, when we as a society are aware of the pervasive nature of such toxic sources of pollution, we still turn a blind eye to this type of “recycling” in the name of free or cheap computer recycling.
It’s no wonder the temptation is so strong for the e-waste industry to ship our toxic materials away. Dead and dying computers and TVs are about as ubiquitous as beer bottles these days. OK, maybe not in Summit County, but surely in Utah.
Unfortunately, these computers and monitors are way more tricky to recycle than a beer bottle. We can’t just toss them in a pile and melt them back into shape.
Made with a mix of plastics, metals and even glass, the basic components of e-waste just can’t be recycled together. Plus, computers are also filled with a mix of toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and zinc. Computer monitors and TVs are also filled with potent mercury vapor that shouldn’t be released into the environment.
For all of these reasons, e-waste recycling requires specialized hazardous waste facilities to dismantle and recycle them. Which, by the way, is also why we can’t take computer monitors, TVs, or fluorescent bulbs at the drop-off centers. The temptation not to smash such devices for little (and not-so-little) kids is just too tempting. Sure, a long fluorescent tube is full of the world’s most potent neurotoxin, but it also kind of looks like a lightsaber.
Back to the topic at hand, the fact of the matter is there are “bad” e-waste recyclers, who ship materials overseas, despite clear regulations and moral obligations not to. And it’s hard to know who’s telling the truth in the e-waste industry.
A few months ago, Summit County’s recycling manager was using Executive Recycling to process our
e-waste. But, being the diligent (and dapper) fellow that he is, he heard wind of some rumors about Executive Recycling and their questionable recycling practices at a recycling conference. He dropped them as fast as a hot potato, not wanting to risk using a company that he couldn’t trust with such an important issue.
Now, Summit County’s computers and TVS are shipped to Luminous Recycling, where they have audits of their recycling systems to prove that they don’t (ever) ship materials overseas to be recycled — even if it’s a little more expensive.
This is why we ask you to contribute a little to the cost of recycling, by paying $5 per computer, laptop or monitor, and $10 per TV. It’s actually just a fraction of the cost to recycle this material and it allows the Summit County Recycling Program to pay for responsible e-waste recyclers who use U.S. facilities that follow all human and environmental health protocols.
So, please rest assured that your computers and TVs dropped off at the recycling facility located at the Summit County Landfill will get recycled responsibly and ethically. They take computers and TVs during regular operating hours, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.
Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier, Jennifer Kirkpatrick, Heather Dodd Christie and Susie Nothnagel, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation in our mountain community. Eartha believes that you can walk gently on our planet, even if you’re wearing stylie shoes.
Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org or
to High Country Conservation Center,
PO Box 4506, Frisco, CO 80443.
Information was taken from the Rocky Mountain News for this column.
Colorado now under
government investigation for sending some materials to China. I want to do the right thing even if that means holding on to these until the U.S. figures out what to do with our trash!
— Glory Crenshaw
Thanks for writing, Glory. That “60 Minutes” story was indeed shocking, especially since we have known about this issue as a society for many years. Exporting
our toxic waste to other countries is simply unethical.
For those who didn’t catch the “60 Minutes” story, it highlighted a company from Englewood, Executive Recycling, that collected used computers and TVs for recycling and shipped some of those materials to China. Oh, and they pledged just the opposite — that they would not ship materials there.
These shipping containers sent to China were likely destined for an underground and unregulated “salvage” yard, where workers use open fires and strong acids to extract the valuable materials, letting unchecked toxic pollution into the air and water and their bodies.
(Company officials told the Rocky Mountain News they didn’t know why the waste shipment wound up in Hong Kong.)
Sadly, even in this day, when we as a society are aware of the pervasive nature of such toxic sources of pollution, we still turn a blind eye to this type of “recycling” in the name of free or cheap computer recycling.
It’s no wonder the temptation is so strong for the e-waste industry to ship our toxic materials away. Dead and dying computers and TVs are about as ubiquitous as beer bottles these days. OK, maybe not in Summit County, but surely in Utah.
Unfortunately, these computers and monitors are way more tricky to recycle than a beer bottle. We can’t just toss them in a pile and melt them back into shape.
Made with a mix of plastics, metals and even glass, the basic components of e-waste just can’t be recycled together. Plus, computers are also filled with a mix of toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and zinc. Computer monitors and TVs are also filled with potent mercury vapor that shouldn’t be released into the environment.
For all of these reasons, e-waste recycling requires specialized hazardous waste facilities to dismantle and recycle them. Which, by the way, is also why we can’t take computer monitors, TVs, or fluorescent bulbs at the drop-off centers. The temptation not to smash such devices for little (and not-so-little) kids is just too tempting. Sure, a long fluorescent tube is full of the world’s most potent neurotoxin, but it also kind of looks like a lightsaber.
Back to the topic at hand, the fact of the matter is there are “bad” e-waste recyclers, who ship materials overseas, despite clear regulations and moral obligations not to. And it’s hard to know who’s telling the truth in the e-waste industry.
A few months ago, Summit County’s recycling manager was using Executive Recycling to process our
e-waste. But, being the diligent (and dapper) fellow that he is, he heard wind of some rumors about Executive Recycling and their questionable recycling practices at a recycling conference. He dropped them as fast as a hot potato, not wanting to risk using a company that he couldn’t trust with such an important issue.
Now, Summit County’s computers and TVS are shipped to Luminous Recycling, where they have audits of their recycling systems to prove that they don’t (ever) ship materials overseas to be recycled — even if it’s a little more expensive.
This is why we ask you to contribute a little to the cost of recycling, by paying $5 per computer, laptop or monitor, and $10 per TV. It’s actually just a fraction of the cost to recycle this material and it allows the Summit County Recycling Program to pay for responsible e-waste recyclers who use U.S. facilities that follow all human and environmental health protocols.
So, please rest assured that your computers and TVs dropped off at the recycling facility located at the Summit County Landfill will get recycled responsibly and ethically. They take computers and TVs during regular operating hours, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.
Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier, Jennifer Kirkpatrick, Heather Dodd Christie and Susie Nothnagel, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation in our mountain community. Eartha believes that you can walk gently on our planet, even if you’re wearing stylie shoes.
Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org or
to High Country Conservation Center,
PO Box 4506, Frisco, CO 80443.
Information was taken from the Rocky Mountain News for this column.
