Winning the Earth Day Shell Game

Earth Day has always been a holiday like New Years for boomer environmentalists like me—a festive opportunity for resolutions to improve our lives. So we make an annual effort to recycle more and drive less, and maybe it helps a little. But recently the market has discovered that green sells, so Earth Day is suddenly big in a bad way. Thanks to the numerous electronics recycling events planned for this week, Earth Day may be the single most harmful day of the year for the environment and human health.

Electronics is the primary source of toxic metals in landfills, so electronics recycling seems imperative. But experts estimate that more than 80% of the old gizmos accepted for recycling in this country are merely exported to developing countries where environmental and worker safety laws are lax. Because the raw material value of e-waste is low, if your local collection event or your neighborhood recycling vendor takes everything for free, chances are good the stuff you turn over to be properly recycled will soon be on the water, bound for a low wage destination like China, Vietnam or Nigeria—never mind the “Certificate of Destruction” or assurances to the contrary.

A reasonable person believes “recycling” means somehow converting an old product into raw materials suitable for use in a new item. Aluminum cans are made into more aluminum cans; plastic milk jugs are converted into landscaping timbers. If we want the same to be true for the electronics we retire from our homes and businesses, we need to make the industry play by a simple new rule: PROVE IT.

We must require that recyclers account for every ounce of material contained in the products they receive, particularly the toxic materials. If a PC weighs thirty pounds, the recycler must document the recovery and disposition of thirty pounds of raw materials, including the small amounts of lead, cadmium, and other hazardous substances. A Certificate of Destruction can’t do that. The typical environmental audit doesn’t try.

Demand it. Only when the market insists on accountability will the e-waste recycling industry begin to show green as a true color.