By Caprice Lawless
Steps to Responsible E-waste 5 Management at Your School
aste management infra Step 1. Educate yourself about local, national, and international legislation. structure is expanding While recycling standards and certifications are still in the developmental stag Was we wrestle with how es, many cities and states are leading the way with ambitious and comprehen best to gather, sort, and recycle the sive programs addressing the situation. California’s landmark Electronic Waste 50 million tons of e-waste we are Recycling Act of 2003, for example, requires retailers to collect a fee from con generating annually worldwide. sumers on covered electronic devices. The fees are then submitted to the state Awareness and education are the to pay for recycling efforts. first steps, followed by programs In February 2008, New York City became the first U.S. city to pass a manda and industries to address the issue. tory producer-responsibility ordinance. The law requires computer, TV, and Schools, districts, and colleges of MP3 manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection of their own elec education contribute their share of tronic products for New Yorkers who discard 25,000 tons of e-waste each year. e-waste and need to be concerned In January 2008, New Jersey joined California, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, with its disposal, but they can also North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, in passing “take-back” laws put into place their own refurbish requiring manufacturers to collect and recycle e-waste. It is already illegal to ing programs and partnerships and dump e-waste in 10 states, with similar legislation pending in many others. use the e-waste challenge as the At present, there is not a comprehensive e-waste policy under the umbrella basis for some real-life problem of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Recycling is encouraged but not solving and project-based learning. required for consumers or organizations discarding fewer than 220 lb. of used For more on refurbishing pro electronics equipment per month. Waste from facilities generating more are grams, see Refurbishing/Redistri regulated under existing federal statutes governing hazardous waste. For ex bution Programs on page 20. For ample, dispositioned CRTs must be manifested and sent as “hazardous waste” to classroom ideas, see How Your a permitted hazardous waste landfill. CRTs sent for recycling from such facili Classroom Can Help on page ties are also currently subject to federal regulation. The EPA is in the process of 21. For a comprehensive list of streamlining requirements to make it easier and less costly to send e-waste for resources mentioned in this art recycling, and recommends that the best course of action in the meantime is for icle, see Resources on page 22. consumers to abide by local and state guidelines. Being a responsible organization Legislation at the international level is moving apace. The European Union regarding e-waste requires looking passed two Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) laws address into recycling via donating, refur ing the issue. Directives 2002/95/EC and 2002/96/EC limit the total quantity of bishing, or repurposing parts. Each waste going to final disposal, make producers responsible for taking back and solution has its challenges. Here is recycling the equipment, and require consumers to return their equipment for a five-step process and several re recycling, free of charge. Language in the directive also requires the substitution sources to help you learn about the of various heavy metals used in manufacturing for less toxic metals. challenges and possible solutions Similarly to the way the United Nations’ Kyoto Accord would set binding tar to minimizing what technology gets to limit greenhouse emissions, the Basel Convention would mandate careful ends up in landfills. stewardship of e-waste worldwide.
Copyright © 2008, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. 18 Learning & Leading with Technology | November 2008 “Greeters” meet visitors at the NextStep recycling/refurbishing facility in Eugene, Oregon.
Step 2. Investigate recycling options from the companies that sell you equip ment. Many manufacturers offer con sumers a percentage off the purchase price of a new piece of equipment upon returning the old one to a re tailer such as Best Buy. In addition, many electronics manufacturers are partnering with retailers such as FedEx Kinko’s, Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples to col lect used equipment for recycling.
Step 3. Learn about shredding and sort ing and how to certify that recycling is happening. Environmentalists and waste management equipment experts have begun to join forces to determine how best to collect then dismantle or shred e-waste into a secondary stream of what will be a recovered resource for use elsewhere. Many agree that the elements within the devices are too valuable to languish in landfills. Already technology has been developed that can electronically scan conveyor belts of assorted, shred ded e-waste. Once the economics are right, the widespread use of shredding and sorting equipment has the poten tial to virtually eliminate e-waste. Ultimately, certification programs are needed to verify environmen tally responsible collection, ship ment, and processing. Already initial steps have been taken. Continued on page 22. Copyright © 2008, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. November 2008 | Learning & Leading with Technology 19 Refurbishing/Redistribution Programs
Hundreds of nonprofit organizations are collecting used PCs, refurbish- ing them, and then distributing them to people who need them. It’s a plan that benefits greatly from the rapid turnover of high-tech equipment throughout industry, education, and government. While each program differs slightly, the methods and mission of the San Diego Futures Foun - dation typify how such programs are a win-win for all. The San Diego Futures Foundation allows one person’s trash literally to become another’s treasure. Established in 1999, it’s an example of how industry, local government, and community nonprofit organizations pool resources and talent to keep hardware in the community. In the late 1990s, San Diego County began outsourcing its information technology providers, with the largest contract awarded to Northrup Grumman. The foundation was set up specifically to support the com- munity by passing along to it as much of its recently updated equipment as possible. The foundation collects more than 3,000 PCs and related hardware per Online Master’s year. Some units are refurbished and then redistributed to community members, specifically families with foster children and those in low- Degrees income housing. Some are used by residents living in subsidized hous - ing, where on-site computer labs offer training and related technology designed specifically services. for educators! Through the Foundation’s Education Program, students at the city’s histor- ic Hoover High School disassemble the units, learn about the components and the function of each, then reassemble them, creating custom-built Earn your degree entirely online computers they keep. Instructors teach them how to install open source in one of the following areas: software, the ins and outs of maintaining a virus-free computer, and how to use the basic programs. At the end of the program, each student makes • Master of Arts in Education: a PowerPoint presentation describing the work, with autobiographical ele- ments describing his or her own growth in technological expertise through Concentration in the program. They also produce an updated resume outlining their experi- Instructional Strategies ence and newly acquired skills. • Master of Arts in Educational Leadership For more about organizations that • Master of Arts in refurbish and/or redistribute used Educational Technology hardware, visit these sites: Free Geek (in the Northwest U.S.): Teacher Education University is accredited by freegeek.org the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Goodwill Industries: www.goodwill.org/ Education and Training Council (DETC). Teacher page/guest/about/howweoperate/ Education University is licensed by the Florida Department of Education, Commission for recycling Independent Education, License Number 3328. National Cristina Foundation: www. cristina.org NextStep (Oregon): www.nextstep Pallets loaded with discarded recycling.org/store.php monitors are readied for recycling. PC Rebuilders & Recyclers (Chicago area): Photo courtesy of Lane County pcrr.com Public Works Waste Manage San Diego Futures Foundation: www. ment Division, Eugene, 1079 W. Morse Blvd. • Suite B sdfutures.org Oregon. Winter Park, Florida 32789-3751 TechSoup (clearinghouse for thousands of 1.800.523.1578 computer refurbishers, worldwide): www.techsoup.org/recycle www.TEU.edu
Copyright © 2008, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
20 Learning & Leading with Technology | November 2008 How Your Classroom Can Help
Because the e-waste solution will touch on behavior modification, business, public information, ethics, scientific methods, environmental science, and politics, the fodder for interdisciplinary classroom 8=>398+6$/-289691C projects is limitless. #><+>/13/=980/6+8.3<:9<>#2/<+>98 projects, and blogs that might all carry /,
• What is inside my computer, and what is it worth in today’s market? • What is the electronics industry doing to address e-waste? • What is the waste management industry doing
to address e-waste? ©istockphoto.com/Bartco • How are electronics recycled in my school and in my community? • What happens to e-waste after we take it to our local e-waste recycling center? B-/:>398+6/C89>/#:/+5/< • Which local, state, and federal agencies verify or #3</8"9,38=98 certify that e-waste is being properly recycled? • What can our school do to spread the word about 8.,+-5,C:9:?6+<./7+8. e-waste recycling? +<-9$9
Copyright © 2008, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
November 2008 | Learning & Leading with Technology 21 Continued from page 19. “We hold an e-cycling event at our Back-To-School Night in the fall,” said Steve Taffee, an ISTE Special Interest Group Technology Coordinator member from Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. Through its partnership with community members, the school is Step 5. Put together your plan for re recycling 1,000 units per year. sponsible e-waste management. After educating yourself and stakeholders The International Association of Elec according to SIGTC member Steve about applicable e-waste legislation tronics Recyclers (IAER) has a certifi Taffee. His school recycles about 1,000 and researching local recycling op cation program for responsible recy units a year, and its recycling effort portunities, consider viable solutions cling, conducting third-party audits of also extends to the larger community. for your organization. Keep in mind electronics recycling facilities. “We hold an e-cycling event at our partnerships locally and internation Back-To-School Night in the fall,” he ally and involve the whole community Step 4. What others are doing. An in explained. “Parents can drop off cer in the solution. formal poll of two of ISTE’s special tain items that we can recycle for free Resources interest groups, reveals widely varying at Green Citizen; very popular. The Videos e-waste solutions enacted by school tech department also takes laptops, Hewlett-Packard video showing how electronic districts. They are limited, in many monitors, TVs, cell phones, toner car scanning of sorted e-waste works: hpbroad cases, by the recycling resources avail band.com/(S(zzafvv550kpzre55rosjwh2x))/ tridges, and batteries at any time program.aspx?key=7JVQ93ORQO able to them. Members of the Special of year for e-cycling,” Taffee added. Riverside Waste Machinery: www. Interest Group for Technology Co It’s illegal to donate used equipment wastemachinery.co.uk/video_electronic_ ordinators (SIGTC) and the Special directly to charity in the state of Iowa, scrap.asp Interest Group for Computing Teach according to SIGTC member Gordon SSI Shredding Systems: See how easily large ers (SIGCT) report that some schools, Dahlby. “School equipment is, at face items such as printers, copy machines, and even entire Volkswagens are shredded: www. like the University of Northern Iowa, value, owned by the taxpayers. One ssiworld.com/watch/watch-en.htm sell used equipment at an auction must either sell it to the highest bid three times a year, according to As der, set a fair market value to sell it to Web sites Apple: www.apple.com/environment/recycling/ sociate Professor Leigh Zeitz. Director the public (which could be purchased nationalservices/us.html of Technology Pamela McLeod said by nonprofits), or dispose of it by lot Basel Convention: www.basel.int the board policy in her New Hamp or bid,” he explained. Dahlby also California Waste Recycling Act of 2003: shire school district requires they mentioned that the donation of used www.ciwmb.ca.gov/electronics/Act2003 first attempt to sell old equipment, equipment may be disallowed in some Dell: www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic. aspx/dellrecycling?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs and then donate it to schools, librar states, because it might appear to be Electronics Industries Alliance: www.eiae.org ies, or nonprofits before discarding donating to poor families at the exclu European Union: ec.europa.eu/environment/ it. “Our town transfer station accepts sion of any particular group of taxpay waste/weee/index_en.htm electronic equipment for e-waste recy ers. “The slippery slope is identifying Greener Computing (international clearing cling, so that is our preferred method needy families and also not incurring house tracking industry efforts): www. of disposal,” she said. Like many oth greenercomputing.com any future support costs once the units Hewlett-Packard: www.hp.com/hpinfo/ ers in her position, she is recycling are out of district control,” he said. globalcitizenship/environment/recycle some equipment for which there is no Wayne Burnett, primary ICT spe International Association of Electronics market. “This year we are recycling cialist and coordinator of learning Recyclers: www.iaer.org about 40 old CRT monitors for which technologies at the German Euro Microsoft: www.microsoft.com/Education/ we were not able to find a seller or a pean School in Singapore, had an TenTips.mspx National Electronics Recycling Information donation recipient,” McLeod added. even more startling situation, “We Clearinghouse: www.ecyclingresource.org/ Many schools, such as the Mount looked at an orphanage the school is ContentPage.aspx?PageID= Carmel Academy in New Orleans supporting in nearby Bintan Island, TakeBack Coalition: www.computertakeback. where SIGTC member Russel Dero Indonesia. The offer was turned down com che Jr. teaches, donate usable equip because they do not have electricity. U.S. EPA: www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/ recycle/ecycling/rules.htm ment to a local charity and send the That might be a problem for a few rest to a recycling firm. Educators in international schools,” he added. In Caprice Lawless, former senior the San Francisco Bay Area have avail Singapore, he had the opposite prob editor for L&L, has been edit ing scientific and educational able to them some of the most ag lem: The charities there had notable publications for 20 years. gressive and thorough recycling firms requirements in terms of operating such as Green Citizen. That’s the firm systems, and so they, too, were unin partnering with the Castilleja School, terested in his used equipment.
22 Learning & Leading with Technology | November 2008