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Team E-Waste

Objectives

This project should have the following impact on our client's business:

• Encourage manufacturers to take responsibility for their products
• Recycle old stuff! 

Team

• Cameron Dixon : (801) 319-5429

          (camerondixon@gmail.com)

• Deanna Clarin (702) 235-7530

• (clarind@unlv.nevada.edu)

• Melissa Klein : (310) 339-9586

          (kleinm6@unlv.nevada.edu)

• Dia Selch: (702) 239-1422

  (selchd4@unlv.nevada.edu)

• Isabel Dizon :  (702) 324-1632

         (izokzr@gmail.com)

 Tasks/Milestones

• Ideal way to recycle/repurpose
  • Isabel - discover what is best
  • Melissa - I did some research about the best ways to recycle.  As you guys probably know, reuse is the best way.  Since that is not always an option I posted some links below to some interesting articles I found.  Let me know if you have any questions and I will continue to see what I can find. P.S.! In one of the High Tech Trash books it states that there was a 1995 protest that led to an amendment called the Basel Ban.  The Basel Ban forbids hazardous waste shipments to poor countries.  Unfortunately it has yet to go into effect.  The EU also states that it requires manufacturers to shoulder the burden of safe disposal.  I'm going to look into this more as well.
• What's being done @ UNLV, Nevada
  • Cameron - OIT, old compys/tech - attempted to call, will try again ---They melt the stuff! Wouldn't tell me what happens to stuff that they don't melt without boss' permission. Said to call back later when he's around.
  • Deanna - Rebel drop-off
• Discover current recycling standards
  • Dia - Student Campaign - If UNLV's recycling process is green enough, how can we make it available to the students or community?

New milestones suggested by instructor

• Revise project objective and frame it as a reseearch question
• Refine project objectives and frame as research question
• Complete primary research
  • Issue 1
  • Issue 2
  • Issue 3
  • Issue 4
  • Issue 5
  • Issue 6
• Complete secondary research
  • Issue 1
  • Issue 2
  • Issue 3
  • Issue 4
  • Issue 5
  • Issue 6
• Develop preliminary proposal
• Write progress report
• Storyboard/outline proposal
• Draft proposal
• Generate text
• Generate visuals
• Document design
• Revise proposal
• Send proposal for review
• Revise based on feedback
• Final assembly

CAMERON:

26 FEB: I spoke with Guy (that was his name) at the Blind Center of Nevada. He is the operations manager there. He explained that the Blind Center takes these old computers, and if reusable, fixes them up and sells them on eBay (link). They are in electronics recycling because it supports their operations financially. They do not currently take TV's. When asked about what happens to the stuff they can't reuse, he said they use a broker, who will be giving me a call sometime. His name is Kip, and his brother is Napoleon. Kip should be able to better answer what happens to the unwanted IDE, etc., cables that the Blind Center can't use. Good info on the BC found here.

2 MARCH: Kip was a gold mine. Dude knows a lot. I spent half an hour talking with him today. He is a sales manager for Exports Express, a Vegas based exporter. I asked him the hard questions that the other place wouldn't answer. His company works with the Blind Center (among many others). Which the BC collects, sorts, and palletizes, EE acts as a broker between the BC and the companies that do the extracting on e-waste. When asked where the stuff goes that the BC can't sell on eBay, he explained that his company deals with the people who want this stuff, which he explained is all overseas. He said that (1) America doesn't manufacture much that they'd use the materials for, and (2) that the Americans that do manufacture mostly use virgin materials, not recycled. EE goes has the company that wants the e-waste submit to the a qualification form-- like an application. This application asks questions like "What is the labor force at your facilities?", "How automated is it?", "Have you handled the volume of stuff we're going to give you?/what's your average volume?", "What other companies like EE have you done business with?"... and then EE attempts to verify this info to make sure the application isn't doctored. He also works with our local Department of Commerce to authenticate info. When asked "So where is my computer from middle school?", he explained that there is a good chance it is over in Taiwan somewhere, but that his company is working to remedy that. EE wants to validate that these companies will take the motherboards, glass from CRT's, etc., and break these things into raw materials, which these secondary companies then sell back to manufacturers: cell phone makers, TV case makers, computer plants that recycle that plastics, gold, other metals. When asked about regulations, he explained that someday soon NV will implement similar laws to CA, where it IS illegal to just throw your e-waste curbside. NV doesn't have this. He said, ultimately though, it comes down to individual social responsibility, and manufacturers footing some of the cost of recycling. Recycling popularity ebbs and flows with price, he explained. When prices are high, like they have been, everyone and their mom recycles. But when it's not paying, not many do. He said that some schools now, to stop some e-waste, lease equipment which will eventually be used by primary schools, etc. I was very impressed by Kip's knowledge and grasp of the problem. He did say that, even with their validation policies, some of their stuff has ended up in the wrong place, but told of how they do their best to make sure that doesn't happen.

No word from the California people who do UNLV's work, but it Kip strongly recommended the BC. He said they are providing Vegas with a great service.

Links:

• Blind Center of Nevada - Recycling
• www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Best-Recycle-Plastic.htm [some information about recycling plastics.]
• www.bagnallandmorris.com/waste_collection.html [waste collection services.]
• digitalliving.cnet.co.uk/specials/0,39030785,49292515,00.htm [18 things to do with your old technology. I can't remember if I posted this one before.]
• enviro.blr.com/news.aspx [recycling computer electronics.]
• Apple - Environment - Recycle [preliminary info on how Apple, Inc. is trying to go green]