Wired: 'Where Gadgets Go To Die'

Wired.com has a great photo essay about an electronics recycler in California - including piles of material (above) that gets reused.

The staggering thing is seeing those piles of electronics and realizing it's only the tip of the iceberg.

Wired also posted a manufacturer-specific "how to recycle e-waste" article on their How-To Wiki.

Join us at American 1's Project: Zero Waste

Recycling Jackson is participating in American 1 Federal Credit Union's new Project: Zero Waste day.

Project Zero Waste is a chance for Jackson County residents drop off materials like metal, plastic, paper, Styrofoam, tires, and e-waste to be disposed of in an environmentally-responsible manner. The day will take place Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jackson County Fairgrounds.

Residents will have to pre-register to participate in the event. Most items will be taken free of charge, but some – like TVs, tires, and LP tanks – will carry a minimal charge. Recycling Jackson will take e-waste items. The good news is that we'll take the first TV or monitor you bring for free, and only ask for a donation after the first one. Recycling Jackson is also accepting the usual computers, laptops, batteries, printers, and anything else with a circuit board - except that we're accepting most of it for free.

We're joining Goodwill, Sam’s Club, Northwest Refuse, Emmons Services, OmniSource, Rapid Refill Ink, Dart Container, Pak Mail, and HUCO Kurpinski Recycling – along with the City of Jackson, the Jackson County Fairgrounds, and American 1 – to put this day on.

Plus, Project: Zero Waste kicks off a weekend of events in Jackson that will celebrate Earth Day and environmental stewardship. There’s also a big event at Cascades park on Sunday, April 19 sponsored by the Jackson Outdoor Coalition.

County residents who want to participate can download a registration form online at projectzerowaste.com, or pick one up at any American 1 branch. Registration forms are now due by April 10 (American 1 just extended the deadline). We're asking that people get registered just because of the traffic and timing issues.

A full list of accepted materials is also available at projectzerowaste.com.

Kids get creative with RJ canvas bags

Look at home much fun these kids are having decorating our Recycling Jackson canvas bags.

Mary Tallman, our education/outreach coordinator, takes the bags when she visits local elementary students. As you can see, the bags are a hit.



The bags are reusable, so the students will get some mileage out of them - and help spread the good word.

Dreaming of a green Christmas

Turns out lots of Jackson residents went green with their post-holiday wrappings. From the CitPat:

Bill Thomas, resource recovery coordinator for Northwest Refuse, said the company saw a significant increase in the volume of recyclables dropped off at recycling centers after Christmas — when people are getting rid of plenty of cardboard boxes and paper from gifts that had been under their trees.

How about that?

The CitPat also noted that county recycling drop-off sites were "overflowing" after Christmas. "Scenes like these show the need for a better public recycling program." We couldn't agree more.

Recycled materials harder to sell?

An interesting story from the New York Times on how the economic troubles have affected recycled materials. Says the article:

There are no signs yet of a nationwide abandonment of recycling programs. But industry executives say that after years of growth, the whole system is facing an abrupt slowdown.

Nothing is immune, it seems, from the financial crisis - let's just hope the environment doesn't become old news.

Build a Buddhist temple out of 1 million beer bottles

It's true:

Thai monks from the Sisaket province have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct their Buddhist temple. Mindfulness is at the center of the Buddhist discipline and the dedication and thoughtfulness required to build everything from the toilets to their crematorium from recycled bottles shows what creativity and elbow grease can accomplish.

The monks were able to clean up some of the pollution and make an amazing, and news-worthy, structure that I'm sure looks dazzling on a bright, sunny day.

If Buddhist monks can take a million beer bottles and make a house of worship, is it too much to ask for us to recycle our plastic water bottles? Seriously.

60 Minutes follows the e-waste trail

Wow - if you didn't see 60 Minutes special report on e-waste last night, be sure to check it out online. It was a scary and informative piece about what happens to our electronics when we toss them out.

60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley follows one Denver, CO "recycler" that actually sends his e-waste to China to be sold and melted down, even though the recycler claims everything stays in the U.S.

And what happens in China? That's the scariest part of the story: people getting burned, inhaling toxic fumes, and living with the highest concentration of lead in their blood of anywhere on Earth.

Frightening stuff. It's good, though, to remind us that all this gadgetry we buy has to end up somewhere.

[image courtesy of CBS.com]