“Going Green Revisited: The Green Revolution… And the Giant Machine”
My second of two follow papers for MSC 760
By Tanner Dabel
So, have we finally wakened up from our long slumber of just throwing stuff away? Is it time for the world to act? Are we really doing everything we can recycling wise? Or, is it too late, did we let the deadline come and go? Did we wait too long, has the damage been done? Did we ruin Earth beyond repair? If you’re asking yourself any of the above questions, you’ve already entered the world of “Going Green”. If you haven’t, welcome to a new revolution… The Green Revolution. A war fought not with guns, tanks or ammo, but with research, campaigns and policy.
What is this Green Revolution? It is the recent response to electronic waste (aka e-waste). What is e-waste? Simply put, it’s the bad guy. This is the evil doer we must combat against (the enemy). Ironically, we are our own enemy! We as human beings are the only ones on this Earth who generate e-waste. E-waste can be defined as any number if things ranging from ipods, to TV’s, to computer servers. Basically anything that’s an electronic, or runs off electricity can at some point be considered e-waste. It becomes e-waste when the item has reached the end of its life cycle and we throw it out. It could have been because new technology replaced it or it no longer works because it’s broken. Up until roughly a decade ago, this e-waste was simply dumped and forgotten. Often these dumpings would happen at sea or in 3rd world countries.
Let us shift our focus now and think of the Green Revolution as a means to fix the giant machine (Earth). This machine has many levers and gears. There are two primary mechanics that work with and influence the machine, organizations and the companies. Both have opinions on how the machine should be fixed. Sometimes they agree, oftentimes, they don’t. There are two key locations where the machine is failing, here on American and far off distance lands of a third world country. Think of these locations as two parts of the machine, with a conveyor belt between them. Part A of the machine is in the
The machine is old, outdated and needs to be revamped. As mentioned above, the machine is failing and there’s a problem. Right now, the machine creates waste in part A, this waste travels down the conveyor belt to part B and once at part B the waste stops and just builds up. Sometimes this waste even falls off in the middle of the conveyor belt. The waste is toxic and it damages most everything that it comes in contact with.
Let’s first begin with the organizations and how they want the machine fixed. Often times these groups are involved with informational campaigns to raise awareness of the e-waste issue. They act as the educators. They are the advocate for the machine being fixed. They try to alert us to an issue that has been decades in the making and just finally being realized. The average American most likely, doesn’t even know what e-waste is, or just how much of a problem it is. I know prior to this topic presentation, either Joe (my presentation partner), nor I really understood nor were aware of just how bad this problem really is. It wasn’t until we both started to research for this topic, that we realized just how deep the rabbit hole goes. The most important goal for the organizations is awareness. As more people become aware of the problem, more people will want to help to fix the problem. As more people aid to fix the problem, more solutions can be generated and ultimately, the best one can be used.
Some organizations are involved with combating issues that lay in part B of the machine. This deals with the issue of overseas dumping of e-waste. Without some way to prevent this from occurring, the waste at part B of the machine will continue to just pile up, slowly destroying any future use of this area of the machine. Groups such as BAN (Basel Action Network) want to rework the conveyor belt so that it doesn’t even go to part B anymore. These organizations argue that Part B of the machine in all honestly, wasn’t supposed to be used in the way it has been in the past. The e-waste dumping was loosely controlled and widely abused. Over dumping, inappropriate dumping and unsafe dumping have all occurred with little reaction or recourse by the global community. Part B of the machine is in total failure, most everything is ruined, and this part of the machine needs to be disassembled.
Other organizations suggest that if part B is going to be disassembled, preparations need to be made in the realm of part A. This is done so that waste doesn’t continue to be produced and sent down the conveyor belt to part B. The Rechargeable Battery Recycle Corporation (RBRC) would be an example of such an organization. They act as an outlet for rechargeable batteries. Their goal is to modify the machine in such a way that waste doesn’t end up in part B of the machine, but rather, stays in part A. The RBRC is helping to cut off the disposal aspect of rechargeable batteries, by helping to complete the life cycle of a rechargeable battery. Instead of throwing the battery out at its end of life stage, the battery can be recollected, recycled and its materials are used to either make new batteries, or be used in alternative uses. Whatever cannot be recycled from the battery is responsibly disposed of in a safer, more appropriate ways than what was done in the past. Tougher regulations and better polices all play a role in providing more responsible ways to dispose of any toxic materials.
Let’s now move into the realm of the companies. They are the other mechanic of the machine. For years, they did nothing and allowed the machine to break. Some companies are even responsible of the failure of part B of the machine by purposely sending waste to part B. For others, perhaps there wasn’t intent for this and it wasn’t done out of ill-will, but none the less, their company was still responsible for the e-waste that broke the machine. Though its being addressed now, when e-waste was first created as something else (before it was e-waste) little foresight and vision was used in developing what are considered “Green” items. These would be items that can be recycled down more easily than items of the past.
Some companies have stepped to the forefront and have decided to take responsibility for their past actions. One such company is that of Toshiba, who has implemented a recycling and trade in program. The aims of this program are to prevent waste from traveling down the line and ending up in part B of the machine. With Toshiba’s recycle/trade in program, e-waste is either passed to a new user (reuse), repaired, then resold (refurbishment) or disassembled (recycled). Furthermore, Toshiba doesn’t just take responsibility for its own items, they are willing to take back any e-waste people are willing to send them. They also are willing to give store credit on items that still hold market value as an incentive for the consumer to use their recycling/trade in program.
Another company, Dell, has branched out and tried more than just the mainstream type of take back recycling program. Dell has become the pioneer as of late in the computer manufacturing industry as an innovative and creative “Green” company. Dell is looking beyond just parts A and B of the machine and venturing into areas no one had thought of. One such case is that of their “Plant a Tree” optional fee when you buy a computer from them. Dell is allowing customers the option to donate $2 while buying a laptop, or $6 while buying a desktop. This donation would then be passed along to an organization that is involved with planting trees all around the world. The importance here is that Dell has just transcended the boundaries of what it means to be a responsible “Green” manufacturer. Dell is no longer concerned with just taking back e-waste. By doing this, Dell is using its leverage as one of the largest computer manufacturers to put a worthy green campaign front and center. Dell also offers a similar recycling program as Toshiba and has implemented a “Recycling Tour”. This recycling tour travels the country providing consumers with an easy “drop up” type location to give back e-waste to Dell. The tour has been largely successful and Dell is planning to extend the tour for another year.
As you can see, there are many areas for the organizations to pick and choose who wants to advocate for what within the inter workings of the giant machine. Some want to fix one part, while others want to fix another part. In the whole though, looking at the big picture, they all play an important role in helping to fix the machine. Likewise, companies are starting to step up and take responsibility for fixing parts of the machine. It may be hard for the organizations to influence the companies into cleaning up part B of the machine, but at least, they are working to revamp and recreated part A of the machine. If both organizations and companies can come together to remedy part A of the machine, at least the problems with part B won’t get any worse then they already are. Hopefully overtime, as part A is fixed, solutions will become available to fix part B. Until then, lets all “Go Green”…
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