Recycling in the Lone Star State

Best Buy announces ewaste recycling makes money

Posted on April 25, 2012 by texasenvironment

Yesterday, April 24, 2012, GreenBiz.com published a story about Best Buy’s ewaste recycling program being a profitable endeavor while remaining free to consumers by utilizing state manufacturer takeback laws.

Today, the program generates two streams of revenue. First, Best Buy takes a cut from its recycling partners. When truckloads of old TVs, PCs and dryers go to its processing partners, the plastic, gold, lead, nickel and other materials recovered from the dismantled waste is sold to be remade into new materials. And while volatile, the prices for all of these commodities have generally been heading up over the past few years, raising the share that comes back to Best Buy. A very small percentage of the waste, Raudys estimates, ends up recovered and refurbished.

Secondly, Best Buy collects revenues from its partners: big, well-known electronics brands. “25 states have rules requiring that manufacturers recycle some share of what they sell every year,” Raudys said. “Our network can deliver efficiencies that [the electronics makers] can’t match, so they buy access to it.”

Best Buy has also been able improve its margins by steadily lowering the costs of collecting and transporting the consumer waste by improving workflows and boosting volumes, he said. Higher volumes of waste let Best Buy win more competitive rates from its recycling partners as well.

Best Buy has stepped up shown that this program works and generates revenue so why don’t other retailers like Walmart step up too? To learn more and encourage Walmart to do what Best Buy does, visit the TCE website here and TakeItBackWalmart.com.

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Texas Congress Member Introduces Federal Bill for Responsible Recycling

Posted on June 28, 2011 by texasenvironment

Today’s dispatch from USA Today:

Not all recyclers are created equal when it comes to the proper disposal of e-waste. Increased concerns about exportation of recycled e-waste polluting the water supply and contaminating soil in developing countries has become a hot-button issue internationally, domestically and locally. In this session of Congress, Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, says he plans to resubmit a bill prohibiting the exportation of e-waste.

The Responsible Electronic Recycling Act (HR 2284) was introduced in the U.S. House in June 2011 by Representatives Gene Green (D-Houston), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Steven LaTourette (R-OH) and Lee Terry (R-NE). In the U.S. Senate, the companion bill (S 1270) was introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). In addition, Dell, Apple, HP and Best Buy all support the bill.

To learn more about the many problems caused by exporting toxic electronic waste overseas, the best place to start is this 60 Minutes expose. It’s worth a watch!

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Texas TV TakeBack Bill Signed Into Law

Posted on June 21, 2011 by texasenvironment

E-cycling advocates: Governor Rick Perry has signed a bill into law that makes TV manufacturers responsible for taking back old and obsolete televisions. The law, which is similar to legislation passed in 2007 for computer recycling, requires manufacturers to establish free, convenient recycling programs for Texas residents. Earth 911 has more:

Texas hold’em? Not so much anymore.

Obsolete televisions that used to end up roadside or otherwise illegally dumped in the Lone Star state will now be properly recycled thanks to new legislation. Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill into law last week that compels TV manufacturers to take back and recycle old sets.

Televisions, like other electronics, disgorge heavy metals and other toxic materials into the ground and water as they break down in landfills. Old-fashioned cathode ray tube TVs contain four to eight pounds of lead, while newer flat-screen styles use several mercury bulbs to light the screen.

Image: Earth 911

Now that the bill has been signed, our state environmental agency (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ) will begin crafting the rules to implement and enforce it as a state law. Environmental groups and recycling advocates will work to press TCEQ officials to adopt strong rules that will result in effective recycling programs for all Texas residents. In addition, Texas Campaign for the Environment is also calling on retail giant Walmart to participate and offer e-waste recycling at its stores — a move best Buy has already made. To learn more and help encourage Walmart to get with the recycling program, visit the TCE website here.

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Recycling Legislation on the Move

Posted on May 11, 2011 by texasenvironment

As the 2011 Texas Legislative Session winds down to a close, there are at least two bill to improve recycling that stand a good chance to pass. H.B. 695, sponsored by State Representative Alma Allen (D- Houston), would provide manufacturer-based recycling programs for mercury containing thermostats. S.B. 329, sponsored by State Senator Kirk Watson (D- Austin), would put manufacturers in charge of recycling their obsolete televisions.

These proposed bills would require manufacturers to pay for the collection, transportation, and recycling of waste from consumers, small business, schools, and local governments. Producer takeback recycling ends the existing system of local taxpayers subsidizing waste, shifting the cost of waste management from governments to producers. Producers have the control over design and should be responsible for the solutions. By making the producer responsible for their end of life products, there is a market-based incentive to start designing for reuse, recycling and with safer materials. In addition it levels the playing field to make it fair for everyone.

Justin M. Bowen, Las Vegas Sun-
“After the digital tv switch, a lot of people are going to say ‘no one’s going to want my old analog tv, I need to get rid of this,’ and we expect to see an e-waste tsunami of electronic trash headed for our landfills,” Robin Schneider with Texas Campaign for the Environment, said.

Some television companies, such as Sony, Samsung, and LG, already have recycling programs, and they’re aiming high: they want to have recycling centers nearby for 95 percent of America’s population.

Mercury-added thermostats more mercury than any other household product. In fact, 6-8 tons of mercury from old thermostats is tossed into U.S. landfills each year. The disposal of mercury-containing products in our landfills and incinerators poses unique problems. In a landfill, mercury often breaks down into its more toxic, more dangerous organic form, methylmercury. In one study of landfill gas destined for venting, researchers found methylmercury at levels one thousand times higher than typically measured in open air. There are an estimated 50 million mercury-containing thermostats remaining in homes across America that have yet to be discarded.

Both of the proposed bills have received bi-partisan support, as well as support from local governments and the manufacturers themselves. The TV recycling bill has already passed though the Texas Senate, and both bills could pass though the Texas House within the next week.

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Producer TakeBack Get Results

Posted on February 11, 2011 by texasenvironment

Producer takeback recycling for computers is catching on! In 2010, the second year of the Texas Computer TakeBack Law, manufacturers recycled almost twice what they did in 2009. Now it’s clear that Texans needs similar recycling for TVs. KUT News has more:

“Computer recycling in Texas almost doubled in 2010 compared the year prior, according to the state’s environmental regulator. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says 24.3 million pounds of old hard drives, motherboards and various other computer parts were diverted away from landfills last year. The recycling program was created by the state legislature in 2007. House Bill 2714 requires computer manufacturers who sell in Texas to offer easy recycling programs for their brands of consumers.”

Recycling advocates are encouraged that Representative Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) and Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) have already re-introduced measures on producer takeback for TVs, HB 88 and SB 329 respectively. This legislation has attracted the interest of the electronics companies, electronics recyclers, charities such as Goodwill, the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and thousands of Texans who are writing legislators every month supporting producer takeback recycling.

In addition, it’s clear that the existing Computer TakeBack Law needs more teeth. Just a few manufacturers were responsible for the vast majority of all the computer equipment recycled in Texas in 2010 under the law. Most manufacturers still aren’t doing anywhere near their fair share!

It’s time to stop squandering the benefits of recycling e-waste such as creating jobs for Texans in the recycling sector, conserving resources including rare earth metals and keeping toxins out of our landfills.

Needs Similar Recycling for TVs

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An Easy “Green” New Year’s Recycling Resolution

Posted on December 29, 2010 by texasenvironment

Did the holidays bring you new gadgets? Here’s how to recycle your old ones.

Electronic gadgets were at the top of many holiday shopping lists again this year, with iPads and Kindles fueling a lot of the buying frenzy. The biggest sellers were e-readers, tablet computers, smart phones, HD TVs and video games consoles and accessories. The Consumer Electronics Association was predicting that the average consumer would spend $232 on electronics this holiday.

So what should you do with the old stuff – the items these shiny new gadgets replaced? Or the even older ones – the dead cell phones, PDAs, and iPods stashed in your dead gadget drawer, or the old printer or TV tucked away in the basement? It’s pretty easy to keep a recycling resolution, with the help of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition’s Guide To Recycling Your Electronics. Here are the basics, with a lot more information available on our web based Guide.

Don’t Trash Old Electronics

First, what not to do. The easiest (but worst) thing to do is to toss the old items in the trash. These gadgets contain toxic chemicals, which we don’t want seeping out of landfills and into groundwater, or getting emitted into our air from incinerators. Plus they take up a lot of room in overcrowded landfills. And many contain resources – especially metals – that can be recovered and reused. So while trashing electronics is still legal in many states, it’s not a good idea. (Check if it’s legal in your state – it might be time to contact your state legislators about tougher laws to keep e-waste out of the trash.)

Reuse

There are many options for reusing or recycling your old electronics. If your old item still works and is pretty current, it can probably be reused. Old tube TVs are usually the exception here, but computers and phones will probably have some reuse value as whole products or parts. Many cities have local, non-profit reuse organizations, which will refurbish electronics for use in local underserved communities. You can usually find these by contacting your local county solid waste agency. If you don’t find one, consider the National Cristina Foundation, which matches donated computers to charities and agencies, or World Computer Exchange, which sends educational institutions in developing countries the working items they request.

Recycle

If reuse is not an option, then please take it to an electronics recycler. Please make sure your old product gets to a responsible recycler – one who will actually recycle it, and not ship it off to a developing nation, where old electronics are causing terrible health and environmental harm. The best way to do that is to work with a recycler who is part of the e-Stewards network. E-Stewards recyclers adhere to the highest standards in the industry, including a firm commitment not to export non-working or untested e-waste to developing nations.

If there is no e-Steward near you, then there are many takeback programs run by the manufacturers and retailers, most of which are free. See our website’s Guide to Recycling Your Electronics for information and links to all of these programs. Some of these programs have trade-in options, which will give you money back (or credit towards purchases) for certain items, especially cell phones and laptops. The Electronics TakeBack Coalition’s Guide to Recycling Your Electronics includes details on these trade-in options as well.

- Barbara Kyle, Electronics TakeBack Coalition

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Story of Electronics: watch, enjoy, share

Posted on November 9, 2010 by texasenvironment

The Story of Electronics – from the folks who made the wildly popular Story of Stuff web film – explores the high-tech revolution’s collateral damage: 6 billion tons of e-waste and counting, and other (often hidden) consequences for high tech workers, the environment and us. Watch it, then share it with your friends & family on Facebook, via e-mail and on your other social networking sites!

The new web short is raising the profile of high-tech trash worldwide, generating coverage from Discover Magazine, USA Today, The Independent and Fast Company. Help spread the word as the holiday shopping season begins: there are steps we can take today to make sure our high-tech toys don’t come with such a steep environmental price.

Filed under: Producer TakeBack Recycling, Recycling, Sustainable production & consumption | 1 Comment »