e-Waste, a growing problem

by David DeMulle’ Ph.D.

E-Waste recycling is the latest catch word in the increasing lexicon of everyday terms.

For years, people have been sorting paper, cans and bottles from their trash. But what about that old model computer stashed in the closet or garage? The term e-Waste includes not only desktop computers and monitors, but all the peripherals that go with them such as printers, scanners, modems and servers.

Also included in our new technological cornucopia are cellular phones, faxes, copiers, telecommunications equipment, and any other device that contains electronic circuitry. 

Computers are the largest single element of e-Waste that is accumulating throughout the nation, in garages, attics and closets. As technology creates computers that are smaller, quicker and have greater capacities for data storage, the friendly computer that was the center of your life just last year, is now obsolete. The California Integrated Waste management Board (CIWMB) estimates that in California alone, there are over 6 million outdated computers being stored in people’s homes.

Now for the real problem, computer monitors contain lead. A heavy metal found to cause brain damage and birth defects. Both Federal and State Environmental Protection Agencies have declared these devices to be hazardous waste and cannot be deposited in California landfills.

So what can you do with them? Some still work, some are non-functional. It is becoming an overwhelming problem, not just in California, but throughout the nation. The major problem facing computer recycling is proper disposal.  The traditional non-profit agencies such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill and Disabled American Veterans will no longer accept these computers and components.

Even they have become overburdened by the amounts of computers dropped off at their sites.

And they are not alone, companies large and small have the same problem that the typical householder has, just on a larger scale. So how does the computer in your office, warehouse, closet, or garage find its way to the proper recycling centers. 

The City of Los Angeles provides Household Hazardous Waste Roundups once a month in different communities which excludes companies and businesses.

Organizations such as OSS-Spectrum located in Tujunga, and SoCal Computer Recycling in Harbor City, stage e-Waste Roundups throughout the Los Angeles County by request. More than 500 ton of electronic equipment was collected last year in Southern California alone by these two organizations.

Computers must be handled with care.  If a computer is mishandled, any potential reuse value may be lost. The personal and private data contained on the hard drive must be removed. (Remember those personal e-mails you wrote and received or your tax data and those bills you paid electronically?)

Here in Los Angeles County, OSS-Spectrum specializes in the reuse and recycling of used computers. They are permitted by the CIWMB and its enforcement arm, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, they check out the possibility of rehabilitating the computer for re-distribution to local schools and outreach operations.

If the computer is determined to be non-reusable, it is broken down into its recyclable components for resale to companies that re-construct computers for sale.

Computers are made up of components such as plastics, metals, and glass.  If OSS-Spectrum cannot use or rebuild the e-Waste they receive, they send them to a sister company In Los Angeles for processing into glass, copper, aluminum and fiber pellets.

There are only three DTSC permitted End of Life recyclers in California that can process the cathode ray tubes and electronic circuit boards found in a computer. 

So, what is the process for recycling e-Waste?

There are three steps to e-Waste recycling

1. The first step is the collection of e-Waste from organizations such as Los Angeles County Agencies, large corporations, small businesses and the local residents. All units are checked for reusability of the collected computer equipment.  Workers determine if the equipment can be cleaned up, new software installed and made ready for donation or sales. The non usable equipment is separated by categories. i.e. monitors, CPUs, printers, fax machines and copiers.  The non reusable equipment is sent to the disassembly area.

2. The second step is the actual tearing down to sort the metals, electronic components, CRTs, and plastics contained in the e-Waste. After disassembling, sorting and packaging, they are sent to the materials processor for reduction into base materials called commodities.

3. This is the last step of the recycling process. The processor uses a massive grinder and a centrifuge to reclaim the base materials of gold, copper, aluminum, lead glass and fiberboard. These reclaimed commodities are now made available for sale to smelters and commodities brokers. The cycle is now complete.

OSS – Spectrum Envirotech pioneered the concept of e-Waste recycling back in 1985. Recycling toner cartridges for copiers and laser printers proved to be a large business which later incorporated the recycling of obsolete electronic components.

In the year 2000, they received their CIWMB permit to handle cathode ray tubes (CRT). This was when an emergency law was passed in California mandating that used CRT’s be declared hazardous waste and banned from the landfills because of the amount of lead contained in them.

Dr. David DeMulle’, Senior Analyst at OSS-Spectrum, began working with Senator’s Sher and Romero’s offices and other environmental groups to create Senate Bill 20. This bill which was passed by the California legislature and signed by Governor Davis in September of 2003, establishes the accountability or “Stewardship” of computers and their related CRT devices.

One of the major provisions of SB-20, is the charging of a recycling fee on all CRT devices in excess of 4 inches manufactured in California. This fee will help pay for the cost of recycling these items and keeping them out of California landfills.

Of secondary importance is the shipping of California e-Waste to third world countries such as China, Pakistan and India. E-Waste is sold and shipped overseas because of their cheap labor and lax environmental standards.

SB-20 attempts to restrict, the amount of California e-Waste being exported by requiring the recyclers to provide specific details of what country the items are being sent to, and if those countries have specific laws regulating the importation of hazardous wastes.

E-Waste is becoming a major environmental problem throughout the world. Before you toss your used electronics into the dumpster, call your City Hall for the name of a local e-Waste handler. For more information, log on to www.spectrumwest.com or call (888) 4-E-WASTE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 December 2004 (c) SRL