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Where gadgets go to die

LYNN GREINER

Special to Globetechnology.com

Latest comment posted at 9:13 AM EDT 18/03/08

Recycler Sims Recycling Solutions processes 680,000 kilograms of electronic detritus per month ...Read the full article

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  1. Comments are Closed from Toronto, Canada writes: I wonder what the cost comparison is to manufacture the item in PRC China compared to tearing it down in Ontario minimum wage Brampton?
  2. wawa dave from The other side of the road!, Canada writes: I see it mentions smelting and burning in several places.
    which will use vast amounts of air in smelting and will give off that air with the melted burnt plastics suspended in that air.
    Burnt plastics art carcinogenic.
  3. Jacques Shellac from Montreal, Canada writes: What annoys me is when a company or government department (like the government of canada) decides to update perfectly good equipment, and rather than wiping personal information and donating the equipment to those who might make better use of it, the crush the damn things and put them into this recycling system. Manufacturers, RIM for example, would much rather see the devices crushed so that they can sell replacements. None of this equipment should be crushed and smelted, it should be designed to be reused or recycled in a meaningful manner. I just recently heard that the government of Canada did this with some 10,000 blackberries. Of course I have no proof, but it wouldn't surprise me with the current government.
  4. Tony Burson from The centre of the Canadian universe, Canada writes: Why not legislate that the vendors must accept the used cellular phones for recycling. This they could do in conjunction with the manufacturers. The manufacturers could include this service in the initial cost of the phone and then profit from the sale of the chemicals and heavy metals. The days of the throwaway society are over, we all have to take responsibility for our back yard and our front yard, the planet.
  5. Dick Garneau from Canada writes: Recycling must be made simple and easy.

    The HP ink cartridge is an example and I hope they refurbish the product for resale.
  6. Jamie McQuaid from Toronto, Canada writes: "Why not legislate that the vendors must accept the used cellular phones for recycling"

    There is a strong push for this type of legislation by several groups in Canada for this Tony. It's been called several things over the past few years, the most common probably being "Extended Producer Responsibility". A lot of people have probably never heard of it but many groups have been pushing the recycling of electronics and even to a greater extent, automobiles. Europe has already been doing this with many of its manufacturers by building disassembly plants similar to this one used for electronics. It's a great idea, creates jobs in a new industry (by building disassembly plants), it helps the environment by recycling and even re-using some of the parts that are recovered and it ensures that these products are not left in a landfill or decaying in an auto-wreckers lot. It also gives the companies manufacturing these items to use more recyclable material in their goods because it will be easier to recover later in the life cycle of the product. Who knows what it would take for our legislators to realize the benefits of programs like these...but at least its starting to get some coverage...
  7. Jacques Chenail from St-Émile-de-Suffolk QC, Canada writes: Very good and encouraging news indeed!

    There are many producers/manufacturers like HP who have taken up the cause of social and environmental responsibility.

    FYI, the Québec government, in cooperation with Bureau en gros (Staples-Business Depot elsewhere in Canada), has been collecting surplus/obsolete/etc. electronic equipment that is fed into a training and recycling program (CFER) for drop-outs. Usable cell phones are reprogrammed and recirculated as emergency devices and computer equipment is either refurbished and recirculated to schools or recycled properly. Ink cartridges and rechargeable batteries are also accepted.

    BTW, emissions are "scrubbed" to the max in these new plants.

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