Planet Green Recycling Program Hits $40 Million in Donated Funds for Schools and Non-Profit Groups Nationwide!

Posted on by
Reply

Through its “Fund Raise through Recycling Program,” Planet Green of Chatsworth, California (www.planetgreenrecycle.com) has reached a new standard in fundraising proficiency by hitting the $40 Million mark for cash paid out to its Recycling Program partners! Planet Green pays for “E-Waste” items that are sent to its re-manufacturing facility in Southern California which provides important funding for contributing schools, community organizations, and non-profits across the country, particularly during these very tough economic times. Their collection list includes old or empty ink cartridges and toners as well as outdated cell phones and small electronics. Planet Green has been providing essential funding to schools, non-profits, religious organizations, clubs and/or groups that enroll in their program for over a decade and also provide an easy means of removing critical E-Waste components that are inundating landfills nationwide.

Chatsworth, California (PRWEB) September 29, 2011

Talk to any school, university, club or non-profit organization these days, and they will tell you that fundraising is a major challenge in 2011. With the gloomy economic outlook and a dramatic shift in demographics marked by the retirement of scores of Baby Boomers, charitable giving has fallen to its lowest level in decades. As the slumping economy causes many American families to tighten budgets, private donations are also plummeting. Contributions to schools and universities have declined substantially, most national philanthropic endeavors are cash-strapped, and even fund-raising drives for local car washes, bake sales and the enduring cookie sales of the Girl Scouts have seen an historic crash. Add cuts in Federal, State and Municipal budgets and those organizations that need the most help are fighting for their very existence.

For Planet Green of Chatsworth, California (www.planetgreenrecycle.com), however, fundraising dollars have never been handed out faster! Planet Green is a world leader of high quality remanufactured electronic products, and they recycle inkjet cartridges, toners, cell phones and a variety of small electronics. The folks at Planet Green have come up with a simple and environmentally-friendly solution to fuel national, local and community-based fund-raising efforts and their cash donations have recently surpassed $40 Million. If there ever was a “Win-Win” for beleaguered non-profit groups across the United States … this would be it.

Since 2000, Planet Green has been providing critical fund raising opportunities via an environmental “E-Waste for Cash” exchange program that creates a powerful, dynamic and virtuous opportunity for year-round fundraising through recycling. Planet Green establishes organizations as EnviroPartners and pays cash for old or empty ink jet cartridges, toners, cell phones and a variety of other small electronics. They remanufacture and refurbish ink-jet cartridges via some of the industry’s most rigorous quality guidelines and sell them at a fraction of OEM prices.

In keeping with their mantra “Only by Working Together, Can We Make a Difference,” Planet Green provides all the tools necessary for schools, groups, non-profits and businesses to collect recyclable goods and raise funds! They provide free promotional materials, a free organization-based website, free shipping labels, complete customer service support, real-time online accounting, and a 7-Day turnaround for payment.

If that’s not motivation enough for a school, club, religious group, or non-profit to contact Planet Green TODAY, consider this … with the rapid changes in technology, electronic waste is considered to be one of the biggest threats to the world environment. A single, inkjet cartridge can take up to 1000 years to be broken down by nature and discarded cell phones contain arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, copper and zinc … all toxic substances that pose a major threat to public health. Recycling also conserves natural resources, reduces air and water pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

Becoming a Planet Green EnviroPartner is fast, easy and free. To “Help the Planet and Help Your Cause” … schools, religious organizations, non-profits, businesses, and even individuals can go to the Planet Green website and SIGN-UP at www.planetgreenrecycle.com.

Canon U.S.A. Introduces New Printer Cartridge Recycling Program. Collaborates with FedEx Office, Sims Recycling Solutions and Close the Loop to Offer Customers Ink Cartridge Recycling

Posted on by
1

Continuing its commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, announces a new nationwide inkjet cartridge recycling program. Designed in collaboration with FedEx Office(R), Sims Recycling Solutions and Close the Loop, this program utilizes the best environmental practices in treatment of recyclable materials.

Canon PIXMA printer users can now drop off empty genuine PIXMA inkjet cartridges at more than 1,600 FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers across the United States. From FedEx Office locations, cartridges will be consolidated by Sims Recycling Solutions, who specialize in the large-scale processing of electronic waste. After being consolidated by SIMS Recycling, the Genuine Canon ink cartridges go to Close the Loop, a “material recovery” company specializing in the recycling of inkjet cartridges. This program will be free of cost to all Canon consumers.

“With the rise in consumer environmental awareness, Canon is pleased to offer customers the opportunity to participate in this national recycling program,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies and Communications, Canon U.S.A. “Environmental responsibility and awareness have always been a top priority for Canon, and recycling is one of the simplest yet most beneficial aspects of this.”

The recycling program will tie into the Canon Generation Green initiative that focuses on helping to reduce the environmental burdens in all stages of a product’s lifecycle. Generation Green is designed to provide business partners, customers and consumers a way to identify and learn about the various eco-conscious features and solutions that Canon has to offer, including possible cost savings through energy efficiency.

In addition, components from the recycled cartridges can be turned into materials for other products. Close the Loop’s innovative products include felt-tip pens and markers made from inkjet plastics and inks; industrial colorants made from recycled ink; recovered metals that can be recycled into new steel and aluminum ingots; and scrap plastics that can be turned into the company’s synthetic “eLumber” and various eLumber products.

Boliden e-scrap to yield extra 14,000 Tonnes of copper & 2 Tonnes of Gold Annually.

Posted on by
Reply

(Reuters) – Swedish smelter and miner and smelter Boliden will squeeze an extra 14,000 tonnes of copper and two tonnes of gold per year from electronic scrap from 2012 as it boosts investment and expands a recycling plan, Chief Executive Lennart Evrell said.

The company is investing 1.3 billion Swedish crowns ($188.2 million) in its electronic scrap, or e-scrap, plant at its Ronnskar smelter, which will process 120,000 tonnes of discarded electronics each year from 45,000 tonnes now.

“The amount of electronics we consume, and the amount of metals going into electronics is increasing every day, but we’re using them for a shorter and shorter time,” Evrell said in his Stockholm office. “This is a big environmental issue.”

It’s also profitable. Extracting metals from scrap uses 10-15 percent of the energy needed to extract metals from ore.

Boliden has been recycling e-scrap for two decades, its technique developed and honed by needing to smelt complex ores in its mines and abide by the strict environmental laws in Sweden.

“We have perhaps the toughest environmental legislation in the world, and a history of developing technology to treat complex ores,” Lennart said. “All these factors together led to us becoming very good in treating complex materials.”

The company is Europe’s third-largest copper and zinc supplier, produces a total of around 15 tonnes of gold, and 350,000 tonnes of refined copper per year. ($1 = 6.908 Swedish Crowns)

 

R2 Solutions Technical Advisory Committe (TAC) Holds First Face-To-Face Meeting In Chicago.

Posted on by
Reply
Members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) held their first face-to-face meeting in Chicago September 20th.  The TAC, which was formed in June, has been working on developing guidance for the current version of the R2 Standard as well as identifying areas of the Standard to consider modifying during the Standard revision process.   A diverse group of stakeholders was present at the meeting, including OEMs and other customers of recycling services, recyclers, refurbishers, downstream vendors, auditors and consultants, and government regulators.   Members of the public were also present and participated in the discussions.  The discussions focused largely on review of the draft guidance developed by the Guidance Workgroup and on how to proceed with the Standard revision process.The Guidance Document, expected to be available for public review and comment in November, will provide further information about what conformance looks like under different conditions and what the expectations for demonstrating conformance are for all R2 certified facilities. “The process that has been undertaken to develop the guidance, and which will be repeated during the standards revision process, is one that really allows for the concerns of all stakeholders to be heard and represented.  This brings a good deal of strength to the document, which has become a more balanced and effective document each time stakeholders weigh in,” notes Kim Holmes, Program Manager for R2 Solutions.  “Being new to this type of multi-stakeholder development process, I was impressed to see how these interests can work together to create a document that delineates the best practices customers want to see, and makes it accessible so that recyclers and refurbishers, regardless of size, can implement those practices.”The Standards Workgroup is scheduled to begin the revision process in October.  They will undertake a similar process as the Guidance Workgroup, allowing each TAC member, as well as the public, an opportunity to weigh in.  Many suggestions from the public have been included in the discussion, and a revised version of the R2 Standard is expected to be available for review and additional public comment in a few months.”We are very pleased with the quality of participation from stakeholders, which lent to a very informative discussion and productive meeting,” notes Rike Sandlin, TAC co-chair and Senior Vice President of HiTech Assets.  “The strength and transparency of the process has been reinforced by the sincerity of the TAC members.  This momentum will carry us forward through the fall, as we continue deliberations on both the Guidance and Standard documents, and until the TAC meets again.”  An official announcement providing details of the next meeting will be made a few weeks prior to its being held.

Meeting minutes from this TAC meeting will be posted on the R2 Solutions website.

Questions & Answers with Jerry Powell- Publisher, Resource Recycling & E-scrap News

Posted on by
Reply

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CURRENT STATE OF THE E-RECYCLING INDUSTRY?

The electronics recycling industry remains in flux. As a highly entrepreneurial industry with a low cost of entry, we continue to have too many firms chasing too few pounds. Thus, we’ll probably see a shakeout in the industry in the coming years, with some firms growing in size and others failing to survive. Also, this next decade will bring many new recycling challenges, especially those created by the miniaturization of IT products, such as tablets, notebooks and smart phones. We’ll recycle more units, but they’ll weigh less.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE ATTITUDES OF THE INDUSTRY TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS?

The battle is over. The e-scrap industry is quickly evolving into two tiers. You either operate cleanly and earn a certificate proving such, or you do not. And more and more, the tons are flowing to those firms that have eSteward or R2 certification, or have both.

At the same time, the features of each certification platform are widely known and e-scrap company executives are making their choice given their firm’s goals and management practices. At the current pace of certification, holding an eSteward or R2 certification will soon be a common industry practice.

I do see a need for the two certification platforms to keep up with changes in the industry, and I know that the Basel Action Network and R2 Solutions, the two managers of the certification platforms, have major efforts underway to keep their certification systems contemporary. This will be the topic of a key session at The E-Scrap 2011 Conference.

WHY DO PROFESSIONALS ATTEND THE E-SCRAP CONFERENCE?

Our conference is organized in reverse to many other shows. We first strive to put together a comprehensive agenda. We bring in experts from around the world, and each year we fund about three research projects, with the results presented at the conference. This year we’re focusing, for example, on the effect of cloud computing on recycling and the likelihood of more industry attention being dedicated to rare earth metal recycling.

The agenda thus pulls a large crowd. We expect about 1,200 from two dozen countries to join us in Orlando. By being where the industry meets, this produces a sold-out trade show. A large amount of business is transacted at The E-Scrap Conference.

DO YOU THINK THERE’S A NEED FOR A STANDALONE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION SERVING ELECTRONICS RECYCLERS?

I’m not bright enough to know the answer to your question. But I do talk to hundreds of e-scrap processors annually, and I have heard varied responses to this issue. It’s certainly the case that those e-scrap companies now members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries receive many impressive services. I know because my firm is an ISRI member. Robin Wiener and her staff are extremely skilled at aiding and growing the overall scrap industry. But two often-heard criticisms among e-scrap processors are that ISRI dues are high for a mid- to smaller-size e-scrap processor, and that e-scrap is not ISRI’s main game (the e-scrap industry represents about 10 percent of ISRI’s overall membership). According to a several executives, ISRI’s size is a two-edged sword. Because of its heft, ISRI provides remarkable resources and services to members. But also because of its size, “electronics recycling is the caboose on the ISRI train,” as one e-scrap processor told me this summer.

I think it’s instructive to note that ISRI moved into the e-scrap game by converting a standalone organization — the International Association of Electronics Recyclers — into ISRI’s e-scrap council. This takeover was heavily debated among IAER members, with some urging independence and others wanting to move over to ISRI. That said, ISRI continues to attract e-scrap processors as new members.

So I think we’ll see interest among some e-scrap processors, especially from small- to mid-size firms and those from the resale and refurbishment sectors, for an independent organization. The processor quoted above also told me he wants “a trade organization dedicated only to electronics recycling so that the focus remains solely on issues of importance to my firm, and not those of ferrous scrap processors, paper recyclers, etc.”

I think this debate is a natural consequence of the e-scrap industry’s evolution and growth. It will be an important issue to monitor in the coming years.

 

COMPARING THE U.S. TO EUROPE, ARE WE AHEAD OF EUROPE IN TERMS OF E-WASTE ISSUES?

The wide difference in how electronics recycling occurs in Europe and the U.S. suggests that a comparison is not possible. European e-waste practices are driven by pan-European directives, while in the U.S., our federal government has no major role in electronics recycling and leaves it up to the states to manage. In addition, European programs include an expansive definition of scrap material, including small appliances, while U.S. systems focus mainly on computing products and display devices.

One area, however, of European strength is in processing systems. Because large-scale recovery programs came first to Europe, we’ve seen the development of sophisticated sorting and processing systems by European recycling equipment manufacturers. American producers are certainly catching up, but European firms remain strong competitors.

WILL U.S. POLICY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE E-SCRAP INDUSTRY?

I applaud the recent announcement by several federal agencies that these bodies will continue to push forward on green IT initiatives,includingrecycling. AsthesinglelargestbuyerofIT products in the world, the U.S. government can show leadership in an impressive way. I also applaud the continuing solid work by U.S. EPA managers in terms of bringing key parties together to work together on important projects.

But I have no confidence we’ll ever see substantial federal e-waste legislation. Without widespread consensus among OEMs, retailers, e-scrap processors, government agencies and environmental groups, each party seems to get a veto on any proposal.

ARE CURRENT COMMODITY PRICES STABLE?

No. Today’s record value of gold, for instance, is based on a rush of investors into commodities and out of equities. This volatility has nothing to do with supply and demand, and as soon as the economy becomes just a bit stronger, those investors will move out of gold, and the price will plummet.

Although commodity pricing will rise and fall in the short term, some of the underlying pricing factors are positive. Economic growth in China, India and elsewhere will create upward price momentum for copper, plastics and other materials. The e-recycling market basket will continue to garner better-than- average prices.

HOW WILL CLOUD COMPUTING POSSIBLY AFFECT RECYCLING?

Cloud computing involves the sharing of software and hardware. Rather than having a standalone corporate server farm, businesses will move their data and services, such as email, to an infrastructure system provided by a cloud-service firm, such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft or Rackspace. Most of us are already in the cloud, especially if you use Gmail or Yahoo.

The principal way this will affect e-scrap recycling is that corporations and government agencies will own and use less hardware, and giant cloud companies will use more. Some analysts envision a time when many company employees will only use a simple device to connect to the cloud. A result of this move to the cloud will be a growing amount of obsolete corporate and government computers and servers. For example, the U.S. government plans to shutter 300 server farms this year alone, as it tries to push over half of its computing needs to the cloud.

Thus, cloud computing will probably be a good thing in the next few years for e-scrap processors. Then it may not be such a good thing for those processors who are not working with cloud- service providers.

Jerry Powell, Publisher of Resource Recycling, can be reached at 503-233-1305 or jpowell@resource-recycling.com.


 


 

E-Waste Systems, Inc. Enters into Agreement to Acquire Tech Disposal, Inc.

Posted on by
Reply

E-Waste Systems, Inc. (OTC BB: EWSI) announced today that it signed a definitive agreement to purchase Tech Disposal, Inc., (“TDI”), an electronic waste recycler and asset recovery specialist, based in Ohio. E-Waste Systems, Inc. (“EWSI”) has developed an acquisition strategy designed to create what it hopes will be an integrated business that unifies the rapidly emerging Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) industry. The company is actively pursuing businesses facing regulatory and/or other mandates for the handling of e-waste.

This acquisition, if consummated, will be a component of EWSI’s plans to acquire what it believes are a select number of quality companies led by capable management teams, which share a commitment to helping businesses achieve cost-effective and environmentally-responsible compliance with e-waste recycling and disposal requirements. EWSI’s mission is to complete a number of acquisitions to extend its reach and to offer existing and future customers a suite of enhanced services; to incorporate best practices in professional management and to invest in state-of-the-art recycling technology. The success of this mission is dependent on the Company’s ability to secure sufficient financing. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to secure sufficient financing in order to fulfill this mission and execute on its business plan.

Martin Nielson, Chairman and CEO, E-Waste Systems, Inc., states, “We are pleased to announce the signing of this agreement and are enthusiastic about the prospect of beginning work with George Pardos of Tech Disposal, Inc. He possesses extensive industry experience, an excellent customer base and a prime location in the Midwest, all of which our management believes will complement the expansion of our business.”

George Pardos, Founder and CEO, Tech Disposal, Inc., states, “I am proud to have signed an agreement with E-Waste Systems, Inc. We are looking forward to the possibility of partnering in building a market-leading, integrated business in the WEEE industry and are eager to advance the most integrated, innovative end-of-life solutions for managing the reverse logistics pipeline.”

Steve Hollinshead, newly-appointed CFO and board member of EWSI, states, “The acquisition of TDI, if consummated, will be significant in that it will bring a base of operations to EWSI with anticipated proforma revenues for the earnout year ending September 30, 2012 of approximately $700,000.”

EWSI’s management believes that the location of Ohio is of paramount significance to this mutual agreement as the state, which is the seventh most populated in the nation, that according to Blumberg Associates generates over 200 million pounds of e-waste annually, while less than 20 percent is properly recycled. Due to these statistics, Ohio now has pending legislation regarding the lawful processing of e-waste. Should the bill pass into law, EWSI’s business plan is to prepare to support the state’s effort in handling the adequate disposal of e-waste.

The closing of this transaction is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to: the parties performing their obligations and covenants under the agreement; EWSI completing its due diligence process of TDI and leased real estate; no material adverse change occurring to TDI business; TDI continuing to operate its business in the ordinary course; the auditors of TDI completing the audit of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2010; and other closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close on or before September 30, 2011, but we can give you no assurance that the closing conditions or other conditions will ever be satisfied to allow us to close the transaction. Mr. Pardos and the seller have the right to terminate the agreement if the closing has not occurred by November 30, 2011 (as long as they have performed their obligations under the agreement) and to terminate upon a material misrepresentation or breach by EWSI. The agreement may also be terminated upon mutual written consent of the parties.

A copy of the agreement can be accessed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company and through links provided by the EWSI website: www.ewastesystems.com.