AIT-ORD Fights E-Waste Epidemic
When Shane Paul, AIT's manager of information systems support, came across a 60 Minutes story chronicling the harmful trail of America's toxic e-waste to overseas locations, he became deeply concerned.
The story, reporting on the proliferation of highly polluted and primitive electronic waste processing areas sprouting in countries including China, Ghana and Nigeria, placed a global spotlight on a disturbing trend.
"E-waste," or electronics trash, is accumulating faster than ever, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In fact, the EPA estimates that the nation now dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year. Of that volume, less than 20% is recycled, while the rest ends up in landfills.
Because the U.S. does not forbid the export of toxic waste, it is estimated that 80% of the e-waste directed to recycling centers in the United States does not get recycled there at all. Instead, it's loaded onto container ships and transported to countries such as China. Once there, the metals, toners, and plastics from computers and other electronic items are extracted and sorted, exposing the overseas environments and its inhabitants to substances including lead, mercury and cadmium.
"It is very sad that human beings are subjected to the kinds of toxins that will eventually put an early end to their lives just so they can feed their families and eke out an existence that most of us can't fathom," Paul said.
In many overseas locations, particularly in the township area of China known as Guiyu, thousands of men, women and children are being exposed to uncontrolled burning, disassembly and disposal of these highly toxic materials, causing detrimental environmental and health problems.
Worried that AIT's e-waste was suffering the same fate, Paul took it upon himself to do a little investigative work of his own.
Like most, Paul expected that AIT's e-waste would be recycled properly, in a state-of-the-art facility found right here in the United States. He assumed that AIT's electronic waste would be treated as it should - as a valuable resource for secondary raw materials, ultimately finding their way into new and refurbished products.
However, now fully aware of the dark and evil underside involved in recycling electronics, Paul realized that if not treated properly, the toxins and carcinogens contained in AIT's e-waste would only be harming the environment more than helping it - an irony he refused to ignore. After all, it went entirely against the company's "going green" initiatives and challenged the eco-friendly intent behind Paul's decision to recycle e-waste in the first place.
Prompted to get to the bottom of the issue, he immediately contacted AIT's recycling center, located in Whiting, Indiana, and scheduled a tour of their facility.
He was both shocked and appalled by what he saw.
"As I was driving into the area where the warehouse was located, it literally looked like I was entering a war-torn area of a third-world country," said Paul.
His visions of a shiny facility with state-of-the-art equipment quickly diminished once he pulled up to a building he describes as looking as if it should have been condemned decades ago.
"The parking lot had broken concrete everywhere and was completely disheveled. The inside of the warehouse was in the same condition - holes through the walls and graffiti everywhere, even in the owner's office," he said. "Pallets of broken-down computer equipment were stacked everywhere, even outside in the open air leaving only a narrow path to walk through."
Once he arrived, Paul's worst fears were realized. The owner confessed that his company is only responsible for breaking down the electronics into separate piles, loading them up and shipping them to Asia.
"His philosophy was that it was their problem, not ours. He justified his company's actions by saying that the law permits him to conduct his business this way."
Dissatisfied and disheartened, Paul contacted the Chamber of Commerce upon his return to explain his concerns and request the name of a recycling company that would properly, safely and legally recycle both the company's industrial and consumer electronics equipment.
He received his answer in a mere matter of hours.
COM2, a leading, nationally-known recycler of computers and electronics, properly and securely disposes of all equipment in their Carol Stream, Illinois, warehouse - ensuring nothing so much as touches a landfill - local or otherwise.
Paul got in touch with COM2 and on Tuesday, November 25, he, along with Ralph Obenauf, compliance coordinator, and Christine Nicholson, corporate public relations coordinator, took a tour of the facility conducted by Donna Vojensky, director of marketing and sales for COM2.
Containing the proper systems and processes to ensure safe and legal disposal of recycled goods, COM2's warehouse provided the AIT employees peace of mind in knowing that all e-waste managed by their team is not being shipped overseas.
"Not only was I impressed with Com2's state-of-the-art facility and the safety procedures being followed by their employees, but their concern about keeping carcinogens and toxins out of our future was evident," said Ralph Obenauf.
On Thursday, December 4, COM2 picked up the first skid of AIT's electronics equipment. Future pick-ups will be occurring on an as-needed basis, depending on the volumes and frequency of e-waste collected by AIT-ORD.
Paul credits an article he recently read in Best Life magazine titled, "Nature's Revenge," by Donovan Webster, as the driving force behind his proactive e-waste efforts:
"When humans talk about 'saving the environment,' they're overlooking the fact that the environment is going to be fine. The earth's force of life remains robust-and is always there...waiting. Instead, it's the future of humans that requires our work and protection. But the earth itself? It's gonna be okay."
"Essentially, we are all responsible for what we do to the earth," said Paul. "We need to change the way we do things if we want to be around 100 years from now. The future of civilization depends on it."
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