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COMPUTER DEALER NEWS, July 26, 2002,
Vol. 18 No. 14
Canada's e-waste problem needs a cleanup
by Patricia Zyska
The e-waste problem is escalating and something has
to be done about it. Most recycling companies agree
to that much.
But some experts are at odds when it comes to deciding
how exactly IT equipment should be disposed of, and
whether it should be refurbished or resold.
One recycling firm in Chicago argues the liability
risks accompanying resale and refurbishment initiatives
are way too high.
Intercon specializes in the demanufacturing of electronics,
which the firm's CEO Brian Brundage defined as "taking
apart the equipment the opposite way that it was put
together."
Brundage, who's been in the scrap business for 15 years,
said his firm's sole mandate is to recycle equipment
100 per cent. "We handle the material properly and make
sure we can recycle it."
Intercon will not resell any equipment or donate electronics
for reuse because of U.S. environmental liability laws,
Brundage said. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection
Agency's Computer Takeback Campaign platform calls for
producer responsibility in order to ensure the proper
collection, reuse and recycling of discarded equipment,
as well as the phase out of hazardous materials and
an end to overseas export of electronic waste, among
other things. EPA regulations stipulate a large corporation
recycling more than 240 pounds of material must notify
the government and keep that e-waste out of landfills,
he explained.
Intercon's customers would rather have the peace of
mind that their material will be recycled properly,
than face the possible consequences of handing used
computers over to someone who might not bother disposing
of them properly, he added.
"If I took in a load of material and then sold what
was good off the load, I'm really not releasing my customer
of any environmental liability. At that point I've resold
something to go to somebody else. I don't know what
that other person will do with that monitor or CPU.
They might end up using it for two years and then smuggling
it into their trash."
If the equipment does end up in the landfill, a serial
number could track it back to the original owner, who,
without a certificate proving it was recycled, is liable
for that landfill cleanup, he said.
The equipment might also be shipped to another country,
where it could end up in a landfill after a couple of
years, he added. "Taking it in and shipping it off to
some other country, or bringing it into a landfill isn't
solving the problem. Our environment is not just North
America," he said.
Brundage was critical of the resale of PCs for charitable
purposes. "Some companies do a certain amount of charity
business, but it's not their whole business," he said.
"In my opinion, those people are taking tax write offs.
Reselling is a good business, especially if you're getting
it for nothing or getting paid to take it, but it doesn't
solve the problem."
Brundage agreed that current IT recycling initiatives
are a good start — but they're not enough.
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