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| It gets the idea across powerfully, and it gets you banned from advertising in a local publication! |
People realize we can’t just keep on throwing things away; some
embrace it as a value, others simply have to deal with diminishing free public
garbage removal and diversion programs that are either mandatory, or the only
way to avoid high bag-tag or dumping fees.
The blue/grey box programs are pretty well known by now; we
understand metal cans are sold for scrap, bottle glass gets crushed and re-used
somehow, paper and cardboard get recycled back into new paper.
But other forms of recycling are more complex. How do they
work? One thing we discard at an increasing rate, although not quite as much as
weekly trash, is e-waste (or e-scrap): all the electrical devices we get rid of
as we upgrade, or as they break down. They are toxic in landfill or incineration,
but don’t go in the blue box. So what to do with them?
Well, this Saturday morning (March 29) you can bring them to
the Earth Hour Super-Drive, hosted by Barrie’s Green Party on behalf of Off the Rack Free Clothing and the Barrie Food Bank. Along with donations of food items
or used clothing, bring in your e-scrap and we’ll weigh it and pay you cash!
The Super-Drive runs from 10 AM to noon in the parking lot behind 110 Dunlop
St. W., off Toronto Street.
What do we do with your e-waste? It goes to Barrie’s own GreenGo Recycling, the first company in Canada to pay the public for e-scrap founded by
Recychologist Rudy Westerneng, a specialized broker for members of the public
who want to recycle beyond the blue box. GreenGo collects scrap from the public,
pays for it, then separates it by category before shipping it to a wide variety
of end-of-line processors across North America.
If you’ve ever heard Rudy singing in local radio spots,
you’ll know that at “GreenGo Recycling they recycle everything”. Even better,
they’ll pay you for most of it. Rates start low for steel, most e-scrap,
batteries, and appliances, but metals like zinc, aluminum, stainless steel,
brass, and copper command a premium, as do some electronics like PC towers,
laptops, and cell phones, because these contain small but significant amounts
of precious metals or rare earths.
Another item worth a bit more is low-grade motors, because of
their copper content. Think power drills, kitchen blenders, even electric
toothbrushes.
Rudy even pays for TVs (flat screen or tube), broken electric
toys, lamps, vacuum cleaners, old fax machines or scanners or printers, cables,
your mouse & keyboard, whatever had a plug or batteries or a chip or
contains metal, even if it’s largely plastic.
Some of these are valuable on the commodity market; others
(like old televisions) are reimbursed from the stewardship fee you pay whenever
you buy new electronics in Ontario. Think of it like a bottle deposit: pay when
you get the new stuff, bring back your old stuff to get it back.
As a participant in Ontario’s Orange Drop program, Rudy will
also take your leftover or unused paint, and even has a rack where you can pick
some up for free! He also buys unwanted clothing (clean & dry) for ten
cents a pound, which either gets shipped to poorer nations for wearing or is
ripped down to recover fibre, plastic, and metal.
So whether you come to our Super-Drive this Saturday morning
or visit Rudy’s GreenGo operation on John Street, there is no excuse for just
throwing things away, or leaving them to gather dust in the basement, attic,
garage or shed. Recycle it!
Published as my Root Issues column in the Barrie Examiner as "Get rid of your e-waste this weekend in Barrie, maybe earn some cash"
Erich Jacoby-Hawkins is a director of
Living Green and the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.
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