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Campaign Calls for "Clean," Recyclable Electronic Products
Mention recycling and people are likely to think of newspaper bins and refundable pop cans. But what happens to the millions of computers, stereos, video players, TVs and other electronic devices that get replaced every year by state-of-the-art models?
Obsolete electronics — and newer models that simply break too easily and are discarded — are creating mountains of toxic garbage that is leaking lead and other hazardous waste into soil and groundwater.
The exploding, worldwide problem has led to a campaign to pressure manufacturers to build sturdy, clean, upgradeable electronics, and to hold companies responsible for the ultimate disposal of their products.
Delegates to CWA’s national convention in Minneapolis voted to support the “Electronics Take it Back!” project, which won support from CWA’s Executive Board earlier this year. The program was launched by the Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition in California. The group’s executive board includes Louie Rocha, president of CWA Local 9423.
The campaign is well suited to CWA, President Morton Bahr said. “As the information-age union, it’s important to be socially responsible about the equipment we make and use,” he said. “The world’s rapidly growing mass of obsolete computers and other electronic equipment is a problem that’s becoming more critical every day.”"
Currently, taxpayer-funded programs in cities and counties across the country bear the expense of collecting, managing and disposing of discarded electronics. The coalition wants manufacturers and distributors to pick up the costs.
“This creates a powerful incentive for manufacturers of electronics to reduce such costs by designing products that are clean, safe, durable, reusable, repairable, upgradeable and easy to disassemble and recycle,” SVTC says.
Ted Smith, the coalition’s founder and a member of CWA through the United Association for Labor Education, said the project started with a “clean computer” campaign in Europe two years ago and has spread through activist networks.
“In the United States, the EPA has taken a hands-off approach, and the high-tech industry is allergic to regulation,” he said. “Nevertheless, we have the beginning of a national dialogue.”
The campaign urges states to take action. Smith said Massachusetts and California have passed laws banning the disposal of electronics products in landfills. Instead, they must be recycled.
Presently, dismantling electronics, properly disposing of the chemical waste and recycling the rest, costs more than the salvaged parts are worth. But Smith said that will change once the process becomes more common and efficient. “Once you get the infrastructure in place, the economies of scale kick in,” he said.
The project also calls for fair labor practices at manufacturing companies, including stringent health and safety rules, living wages and recognition of workers’ right to organize.
“The way to build this is to start exerting consumer pressure,” Smith said. “We’re going to have to get states to pass laws, and get consumers to take action based on companies’ performances.”
More information about Electronics Take it Back! is available on the coalition’s website at www.svtc.org. Under the CWA resolution, members are urged to register their support by e-mailing the coalition at svtc@svtc.org, calling (408) 287-6707 or writing SVTC at 760 First St., San Jose, CA 95112.
Obsolete electronics — and newer models that simply break too easily and are discarded — are creating mountains of toxic garbage that is leaking lead and other hazardous waste into soil and groundwater.
The exploding, worldwide problem has led to a campaign to pressure manufacturers to build sturdy, clean, upgradeable electronics, and to hold companies responsible for the ultimate disposal of their products.
Delegates to CWA’s national convention in Minneapolis voted to support the “Electronics Take it Back!” project, which won support from CWA’s Executive Board earlier this year. The program was launched by the Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition in California. The group’s executive board includes Louie Rocha, president of CWA Local 9423.
The campaign is well suited to CWA, President Morton Bahr said. “As the information-age union, it’s important to be socially responsible about the equipment we make and use,” he said. “The world’s rapidly growing mass of obsolete computers and other electronic equipment is a problem that’s becoming more critical every day.”"
Currently, taxpayer-funded programs in cities and counties across the country bear the expense of collecting, managing and disposing of discarded electronics. The coalition wants manufacturers and distributors to pick up the costs.
“This creates a powerful incentive for manufacturers of electronics to reduce such costs by designing products that are clean, safe, durable, reusable, repairable, upgradeable and easy to disassemble and recycle,” SVTC says.
Ted Smith, the coalition’s founder and a member of CWA through the United Association for Labor Education, said the project started with a “clean computer” campaign in Europe two years ago and has spread through activist networks.
“In the United States, the EPA has taken a hands-off approach, and the high-tech industry is allergic to regulation,” he said. “Nevertheless, we have the beginning of a national dialogue.”
The campaign urges states to take action. Smith said Massachusetts and California have passed laws banning the disposal of electronics products in landfills. Instead, they must be recycled.
Presently, dismantling electronics, properly disposing of the chemical waste and recycling the rest, costs more than the salvaged parts are worth. But Smith said that will change once the process becomes more common and efficient. “Once you get the infrastructure in place, the economies of scale kick in,” he said.
The project also calls for fair labor practices at manufacturing companies, including stringent health and safety rules, living wages and recognition of workers’ right to organize.
“The way to build this is to start exerting consumer pressure,” Smith said. “We’re going to have to get states to pass laws, and get consumers to take action based on companies’ performances.”
More information about Electronics Take it Back! is available on the coalition’s website at www.svtc.org. Under the CWA resolution, members are urged to register their support by e-mailing the coalition at svtc@svtc.org, calling (408) 287-6707 or writing SVTC at 760 First St., San Jose, CA 95112.