"What a Dump!" Indeed

Sometimes free comes with a price, as the Post-Gazette reported in today's story about e-cycling gone awry.

Most electronic products contain heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, and lead and are considered to be hazardous waste. Because of this, most landfills will not accept these kinds of products as is. The items must first be broken down, and any parts containing hazardous materials must be sent to a place like a smelting facility, where the metals can be melted down and either re-used or properly disposed of.

In today's age of advanced technology that makes many electronic products out of date or obsolete in a shorter amount of time, the amount of electronic waste is increasing at an alarming rate. Two recent developments have escalated the amount of electronic waste: first, updating old CRT computer monitors with new flat-screen models, and replacing old, analog TV's (which will quit working today -- unless you buy a converter box) with wide-screen LCD or plasma TV sets.

As you might imagine, companies have sprung up that dispose of these heaping piles of discarded electronics. While many of them adhere to guidelines set up by the DEP and the EPA, some do not. Two individuals employed by EarthEcycle (founded by a former Allegheny County employee) have blown the whistle on their former employer, claiming that the company collected the discards and dumped them in the lot behind a former car repair place in Homewood.

According to the P-G story, several local charities partnered with EarthEcycle to collect and recycle old electronics. Jeff Nixon, Owner of EarthEcycle, allegedly told these charities that EarthEcyle would collect used electronics, re-sell items that were salvageable, and then properly dispose of the rest. The charities would get a portion of the profits from the sale of the salvageable material. Among the charity participants were the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.

But Raymar Dawson and Jason Ivey, two of the nearly two dozen day workers employed by EarthEcycle, reported a different story: electronics that were never tested, and literally dumped from collection containers to an abandoned lot in Homewood or former Levin's warehouse in Monroeville (photo shown above). Dawson and Ivey, who answered ads on Craigslist, were assured by Nixon that they would be hired on a full-time, permanent basis. However, after being paid cash for wages, the pair were not paid at all for their last two weeks of employment.

And what of the charities? The Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, one of the charities that partnered with EarthEcycle, has received only $10,000 of the $150,000 it says EarthEcycle owes them in donated electronic goods. The Make-A-Wish Foundation reports that it is continuing to collect electronic goods for EarthEcycle, but has not received any monies to date.

Watchdog group BAN initially raised the flag against EarthEcycle, which prompted the EPA and the DEP to look into BAN's allegations. EarthEcycle is now facing charges for violation of hazardous material management regulations for the treatment, management, and exportation of hazardous materials.

Among the charges is that EarthEcycle exported used computer equipment overseas and failed to mark shipping containers and documentation as containing hazardous material; improperly disposing of hazardous material; and failing to notify the EPA that it was exporting the material overseas for re-use.

Nixon and EarthEcycle have 30 days to answer the EPA's charges and must also provide a detailed plan to properly dispose of the electronics it has already collected. Not complying with the EPA's demands may result in penalties levied against EartheCycle of up to $37,000 a day.

This story is doubly sad to me because this was borne out of good intentions by the donors, who wanted to dispose of their electronics responsibly, and the charities, who wanted to do something good for the environment and make some needed revenue in the process.

So what's a person to do with discarded electronics--or other items that need to be re-cycled? The City of Pittsburgh has an excellent web site that provides details on how to recycle everything from your day-to-day trash like aluminum cans to old kitchen appliances and the carpeting you just pulled out from your living room. The city also offers free composting classes, and provides a comprehensive list of all of the things you can recycle.

As far as electronic items go, the 2009 schedule for hard-to-recycle items outlines the different drop off locations. The program is in cooperation with the EPA, and does charge a fee for collecting electronic items. But to me, the fee is small compared to the peace of mind knowing that your cast-offs will be disposed of properly.