Re-cycling E-waste
I just can't get the images from the 60 minutes video out of my head. And I can't stop feeling guilty about all the 'e-stuff' that is piled-up in my husband's "man cave". What are we going to do with it all? He and I tend to have opposite philosophies when it comes to dealing with stuff we are no longer using. He likes to hold onto things in case he finds a need for it one-day, while I prefer to just get rid of it!! :-)
So I started looking for some specific solutions in case one day he feels like he can part with some of our old stuff. :-)
In case you haven't discovered it yet, it looks like the Government of Manitoba has set up an agency called Green Manitoba (http://www.mbgreen.ca/cim/1001C7_1T1T3T123T12T753T13T760.dhtm) and they run an e-waste round-up program. They will accept the following: TVs, microwaves, computer monitors (CRT & flat-panel), laptops, desktops (CPU/hard drive, keyboards, mice & cables), desktop printers, DVD players, VCRs & stereos, phones, scanners, copiers & fax machines, & rechargeable batteries. They operate 28 drop-off sites across Manitoba, although half of them are only open from May 1 - October 1. Here is a link to the locations:
Green Manitoba Drop-off sites for e-waste
I did a little further digging and it appears that Green Manitoba then sends 'our' e-waste to the Global Electric Electronics Processing (GEEP) company (see http://www.geepinc.com/Default.aspx). Check out the page with the videos. The CBC video is a 'Canadian-version' of the 60-minutes feature and includes a tour of the GEEP plant. Although it all looks quite legitimate, I find it hard to trust after seeing the company-featured in the 60-minutes documentary. They seemed legit too.... However, it does appear that GEEP has attained international standards certification for 1) quality, 2) environmental, and just last week, for 3) health and safety management systems. So maybe one bad company doesn't make them all bad! I guess we'll just have to keep watching and asking questions.
Here's one other local option for old computers run by a colleague:
The
Inner City Kids' Computer Club, a project coordinated by staff at the Bannatyne
campus at the U of Manitoba, has an ongoing need for used, surplus PCs. The club operates as an
after-school activity at several sites, and one site in particular could use
donated Windows-based PCs. IRCOM (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization
of Manitoba) would like to give computers to families in their apartment
complex for children to do computer club projects as well as school
homework. Any donated computers should be in working order and not more than four or five
years old. For more information or to donate a personal computer,
please contact Dennis Bayomi, Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at Dennis_Bayomi@umanitoba.ca
That's awesome information Theresa! Thanks for posting this, this is really useful information! I told my husband about it and we are going to get rid of some of our old computer stuff! (Yayyy!)
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that they won't accept computers that are more than 4 or 5 years old. My current laptop is 6 or 7 years old and it works great and it's fast too. (But that has to do with proper up-keep I suppose.) If you asked anyone, they might not guess that my computer is any older then a few years, especially after using it.