Congratulations! With the right amount of planning, you will sustain Green Jobs this year! If you are part of a generation that was raised to cringe at throwing paper, cans or bottles in the garbage, then you are part of a larger paradigm shift that now holds economic, environmental and even ethical value. Proper, ethical disposal of E-waste poses an opportunity to do right by our own consumerism and foster innovative, new jobs.
Yes, there was a time when Americans did not recycle common household items, and motor oil was thrown in the trash as well. There was no aftermarket, no processing plants and landfills galore. We didn’t really know what would happen if mercury leached into groundwater, but we learned lessons over time.
E-waste represents the newest frontier for American ingenuity and conservation, and at your workplace or home, it’s quite likely you are sitting on a Green Jobs Goldmine! Your e-waste is material generated from used or discarded electronics (computers, TVs, and cell phones) which contains elements that may be highly toxic to humans, plants, and animals. In landfills, these items don’t degrade, but do contaminate water, air and dirt.
American ingenuity has found ways to harvest elements found in these and other devices, return it to industry in a form that can be reused and safely discard, destroy or literally grind up that which cannot be reused. Residents of Hennepin County may be very familiar with well-publicized, citizen-friendly services. But the business model for recycling has finally reached the stage where supply and demand are in balance, and innovation can seize the public’s desire to do right by the environment.
Somewhere in your house or office is a room that contains a VCR, a few hard drives, a monitor, old camcorder, an early MP3 player or your first cell phone. Whether or not they operate, they’ve been pushed out of your inner circle of gadgets and workhorses. They contain these important elements, which, in the hands of local recyclers, start the new flow chart of green jobs: steel, aluminum, copper, and plastic. The steel from computer and hard drive frames is made into construction rebar. Aluminum and copper are extracted and sent to the metals industry. Plastic is divided into light and dark and is mainly used in plastic items for outdoor use like lawn furniture. Batteries flow into the right stream and lead is removed from monitors. About 3 percent of e-waste cannot be reprocessed and is burned to create clean energy.
Here comes the ethical part of the Green Jobs Movement. Ethical processors maximize the value of every element into a productive or safe endstage. Hard drives contain a lot of personal information and it’s only human nature to be suspicious that it will fall into the wrong hands. Processors can and should literally grind up the disc drive.
The industry has a dark side too. Some handlers send cargo containers of collected refuse to Third World Countries, where entrepreneurs are promising that recycling jobs will reduce poverty. Lenient environmental and workplace safety laws simply kick the toxic matter down the road.
Spring cleaning 2011 is the chance to be strategic about your e-waste. Don’t rely on government to handle this problem. Seek out local businesses that employ local workers to do the right thing. Reward those who are engaged in safe and ethical handling practices. Local curbside clean ups are great for re-purposing an old couch or basketball hoop, and leave your e-waste to the professionals.
Additional source credit: Renovo Data of Edina, Minnesota which partners with local service and business organizations to conduct recycling drives. Hey, Earth Day is April 22!
