The three principles of environmental responsibility
are reduce, reuse
and recycle. In keeping with those concepts, RE-PC has for the last ten
years been reducing the amount of e-waste going to our landfills,
reusing computer technology by providing the public with access through
our retail stores, and recycling end-of-life materials by responsibly
distributing them to processors.
Electronic Recycler's
Pledge
Many so-called computer recycling companies simply
load up containers
and ship scrap offshore to countries where they are processed in a manner
that not only pollutes the environment but poses great health risks to
those that perform the work
Because of this activity, BAN.org (Basel Action Network) travelled
to China to see just where this material was going and how it was being
processed. The release of their video "Exporting Harm: The High-Tech
Trashing of Asia" was a scathing view of the realities of the offshore
electronics recycling trade and it's profoundly negative effect on the
environment.
In order to encourage responsible action, BAN wrote the Electronic
Recycler's Pledge and distributed it to the recycling industry.
It is a set of
guidelines for proper recycling of computer materials and a pledge by
recycler's in this country and worldwide to stop the exportation of hazardous
materials. RE-PC has signed this pledge without equivocation since
we have been responsibly recycing computers and peripherals for nearly
ten
years. Go here for more information:
http://www.ban.org/
Take It Back Network
Back in 1999, Lisa Sepanski and King County Solid Waste
started a program
called the "Computer Recovery Project". It was a groundbreaking
and award-winning program that brought a great deal of public awareness
to the problems and hazards of computers and especially CRT's. Since
we had been handling this material for five years, we were more than happy
to assist in any way we could. One of the crucial factors in solving
CRT disposal was Craig Lorch and Total Reclaim. His company was willing
to take the risk of making the glass to glass recycling of CRT's financially
viable.
As of November of 2003, the Computer Recovery Project has merged with
the "Take It Back Network", a broader and more comprehensive program that
puts focus on all electronics (vcr, stereo, toys, televisions, etc). This
program is now jointly supported by Snohomish County (Deanna Seaman) and
King County. RE-PC is also a member of this network.
It can be found here:
http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/electronics/index.asp
Other Recycling Resources
Follow this link to a myriad of computer recycling information:
http://store.yahoo.com/repc/recyclinginfo.html
Recycling Faq
recycledfaq.html
