(re) blog: dialogue with Redemtech

Redemtech Makes History with First-ever Capitol Hill E-waste Recycling Event

The U.S. Capitol is all about history, from the groundbreaking ceremony for the original Capitol building in 1793 where George Washington laid the cornerstone to what would become the meeting place for the U.S. Congress to the construction of the now-familiar Rotunda and first dome of the Capitol during Abraham Lincoln’s administration.

History was made again this week on Capitol Hill when the first-ever Capitol Hill Electronics Collection Day was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in an effort to provide federal government staffers with an opportunity to properly dispose of their electronic waste.

Peeling Back the Electronic Waste Onion

We all know that in a recession, it’s easier to forget about the importance of ecologically responsible management of e-waste. Nevertheless, I wanted to share this information to answer questions that should be asked of your e-waste recycler, ideally before you engage them, so that you can better determine how they would fit within your organization’s operating philosophy.

Sustainable Consumerism through Recycling

The recession has perhaps prompted many of us to question our own consumption patterns more closely. For many years, we seem to have been on a treadmill. The more we had, the more we wanted, and the better all this stuff had to be.

Indiana Achieves Firsts in Racing and, now, E-waste

It’s been 100 years since the first of 3.2 million bricks were set on top of a crushed-stone-and-tar base to create a race track just outside of Indiana’s state capital. What began as “the Brickyard” in 1909 has become the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of this weekend’s Indy 500, and an oval-shaped launch pad for many historic firsts.

Electronic Manufacturers Group Balks at Collections of E-waste Mandated by Oregon Law

The largest electronics manufacturer group involved in Oregon’s state-mandated e-waste recycling program warned its collectors that it won't pay if they participate in off-site recycling events hosted by groups such as churches or neighborhood associations, according to an enlightening news article published in the Oregonian newspaper and posted on Oregon Live.

OEM’s and Nonprofits

Recently, I read that a major computer manufacturer has adopted a no-export policy, even though they have touted responsible recycling for years. Years ago, back when they initially announced their partnership, I recall having scratched my head, mainly because I happened to know that the nonprofit recycling partner they used didn’t have e-waste processing capabilities, but were instead doing retail and triage operations, at best. Tracking toxins for e-waste didn’t even exist at the time.

Don’t Pressure Vendors for Lowest Price; Partner With them for Shared Innovation

In the current economic environment, there probably isn’t a business anywhere that isn’t looking for ways to save money. One thing many companies are taking a closer look at is all their vendor relationships. Often, that means putting out the dreaded Request for Proposals, or RFP.

Technology Enables Researchers to Discover Lost Data As Well As Data Businesses Hoped Was Gone Forever

Modern scholars from Oxford University are using advanced technology to discover what was written thousands of years ago on papyrus scrolls discovered in an ancient garbage dump in Egypt. A University of Kentucky professor of computer science is preparing to test 3-D X-ray scanning on two unopened papyrus scrolls from Pompeii that were charred by volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius exploded in 79 A.D. According to a feature story appearing in the Wall Street Journal, all around the world, experts are using a wide range of technologies to scan long-lost ancient texts that they’ve been unable to read because of the ravages of time and nature.

So while technology in this instance is a blessing in helping uncover important historical data that once was lost, the ability to use technology in another sense - to recover lost data on second-hand machines - can prove to be as catastrophic to some modern businesses as volcanic Vesuvius appeared to the residents of Pompeii.

What’s Happening in Oklahoma?

Any fan of old movie musicals – or who remembers the lyrics from having to perform some cheesy Broadway show in high school – knows that Oklahoma! is one of the stalwarts of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s portfolio. Songs like The Surrey with the Fringe on Top, Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ and even Pore Jud Is Daid that were prominent in the 1955 movie, became part of our popular culture and are still played today in instrumental format on some of the finest elevators across the nation.

But there was one song from the Broadway version of Oklahoma! that was edited from the movie. It was titled It’s a Scandal! It’s a Outrage! and it’s a sure bet that there are a lot of people in the Sooner State who could be expressing the same sentiment today after a flood of recent data security breaches affecting more than 1.2 million Oklahomans.

Storm Warnings are Up for Data Security

In the early evening of a rather unremarkable Friday, my wife and I watched the local TV newscast while rain tapped at our windows. Just as the weather forecaster appeared on our screen, the channel suddenly went blank. I looked over at my wife and shrugged, picked up the remote and switched to another local channel for the news. No sooner did we change channels when the second station went blank. I flipped to a third local news option and the screen was emblazoned with big red letters declaring that a tornado warning had been issued for our area and instructing us to seek shelter immediately. A grim weather forecaster told us that radar indicated a tornado was forming just west of the city where we reside and heading straight for us. Then the power went out.