not-so-doomed fate of dated electronics

A recent article in Newsweek, titled "Don't Toss Out That Old Gadget", had some cool info on the state of consumption/waste regarding small-electronics recycling.

• Old electronics can't be tossed out with watermelon rinds because they contain toxic elements, and most of them needn't be tossed anyway because they aren't waste.
• Batteries will leak nickel and cadmium--carcinogens for humans--if left to fester in a landfill...computers, TVs and cell phones add further doses of mercury, beryllium, lead and arsenic, among other toxins.
• Nevertheless, the United States sends between 300 million and 400 million electronics to the dump every year.
• What if the waste problem could be solved with a design innovation? Advocates propose a cradle-to-cradle model for manufacturing. This means that with the right design, a manufactured good can be broken down into a number of universal, toxin-free components, which can back in to the production cycle in a closed loop. For example, a cradle-to-cradle computer might consist of just one or two types of plastics, easily taken apart and put back into streams of production. Nothing's thrown out because nothing's waste.
• Even without the dramatic redesign called for, up to 80 percent of a cell phone is already recyclable.
• What's really wonderful is that more and more the waste question is being addressed by the manufacturers themselves. Nokia and Dell lead the way. Dell picks up the shipping and recycling fees for its own products. (See HERE!)
  
• One cradle-to-cradle certification was given to the United States Postal Service for offering special envelopes that let you send old Palm Pilots, BlackBerrys, digital cameras and the like free of charge to the Clover Technologies Group, an electronics-recycling company that has a "zero waste to landfill" policy.

Did you know – the BBC recently reported the following:

1. teenagers get new a cell phone every 11 mos.
2. adults get a new cell phone every 18 mos.
3. average life of computer has fallen from 4-6 years in 1997 to 2 years in 2005

HOW UTAHNS CAN RECYCLE ELECTRONICS, From the Recycling Coalition of Utah:

Recently, the state of Utah has contracted with a reputable e-waste recycler GRX, to manage e-waste under state contract. Feel free to contact GRX at 1-866-GRX-4920 (1-866-479-4920 to arrange a pickup or get more information. This service is open to the private sector as well.

If you have suggestions or information on what others are doing to strengthen e-waste recycling in Utah, we want to hear about it. Please e-mail us at e-waste@utahrecycles.org.

Other businesses that can help with Electronic Recycling:

Executive Recycling
www.executiverecycle.com
877-791-0808

TAMSolutions

www.tamsolutions.com
801-796-1696

Stone Castle Recycling

www.stonecastlerecycling.com
1-801-731-9444

Keep Fire Retardants Out of Your Kids

The Environmental Working Group just finished the first investigation of toxic fire retardants (called Deca) in parents and their children, and "found toddlers had 3 times the levels of Deca in their blood as their mothers. That means young children in the U.S. bear the heaviest burden of flame retardant pollution in the world. Deca is a neurological and hormone distrupter, and children are more susceptible to its effects than adults." Read the report here.

What's a parent to do? Take these steps to protect your family:

1. Inspect foam items and replace any with ripped covers or mishapen/breaking down foam.
   
2. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
   
3. Don't reupholster foam furniture.
   
4. Carefully remove old carpet because the padding may contain PBDEs.
   
5. Have small children wash their hands frequently so they put clean hands in their mouths!

Getting the Pesticide Monkey Off My Back

While I currently fall mostly into the camp of the conventionally grown cotton wearers, the site Hae Now has presented the most convincing and succinct argument against the carcinogenic tee-shirt I am currently wearing. Check out the bits I stole from the site, below, then see links to organic cotton companies at the bottom. The first step toward change is awareness.

What's wrong with conventional cotton?

• Conventionally-grown cotton occupies only 3% of the world's farmland, but uses 25% of the world's chemical pesticides.
• A year 2000 USDA study revealed that eighty-four million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on cotton in the U.S.A, ranking it second behind corn.
• In fact, the EPA considers 7 of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton as "likely" or "known" human carcinogens.
• Ironically, it is estimated that less than 10% of the chemicals applied to cotton accomplish their task, the rest are absorbed into the plant, air, soil, water and eventually, our bodies. Sprayed from the air, these highly toxic chemicals can drift into surrounding neighborhoods, poison farm workers, contaminate air, ground and surface water and cause major eco-system imbalances.
• During processing, conventional cotton is subjected to chlorine bleach, heavy metal dyes and formaldehyde resins (the hidden hazard of 'easy care treatments').
• Additionally, genetically modified cotton now accounts for 75% of cotton grown conventionally. It is no comfort that cotton is also a food crop: cottonseed oil is used in many processed and snack foods and cottonseed is used in cattle feed.

Why is Organic cotton better?

• Manual farming and organic practices have a lower carbon footprint as the entire process consumes less fuel and energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases.
• Not from genetically modified cottonseed.
• Grown with natural rather than synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, no chemical defoliants used.
• Eco-friendly processing that does not compromise workers' health and helps reduce water and electric use and toxic runoff, e.g. non-chlorine bleach, silicon-free softeners and low impact, azo-free dyes.
• Strict testing ensures the absence of contaminants like nickel, lead, formaldehyde, amines, pesticides and heavy metals.
• People with allergies and chemical sensitivity especially benefit from organic cotton clothing, as conventional cotton may retain harmful toxic residues. Even if you don't have sensitive skin, organic cotton will just feel better against your skin.

Where to shop for Organic clothing, etc (only the tip of a giant iceberg of online retailers)

• Hae Now
• Baby Wit (Cash has a President Poopy Pants shirt from here)
  
• Patagonia
• Eco-Mall list of even more retailers
• Be Present active wear
• Base Apparel fair trade, sweat shop free and Organic!
• Dear Lil' Divas yoga clothing and mats, etc