#4: E-Waste Programs Reach Milestone
Series: QUEST: Recycling in America
From: KQED
Length: 00:03:46
- Playing
- #4: E-Waste Programs Reach Milestone
- From
- KQED
Every year, Americans throw away more than 300 million outdated lap tops, cell phones, printers, broken computer monitors and old television sets. But only 18-percent of all that electronic waste is recycled, according to the EPA. Hoping to cut down on the growing mountain of high-tech trash, two dozen states have passed laws that require the electronics industry to pay to set up recycling programs. But navigating this patchwork of legislation has been a challenge. From Wisconsin, Todd Witter reports.
More from KQED
#3: Bioplastic Boom
(00:04:40)
From: KQED
Companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Heinz ketchup have determined that plastic made from plants — not oil — makes sense both for the environment and for business. The ...
#2: Revisiting Mandatory Recycling
(00:04:21)
From: KQED
Until very recently Philadelphians recycled a dismal five-percent of their trash. But all that began to change a few years ago when the city stepped up its mandatory ...
#1: Boom Times For The Recycling Industry
(00:04:54)
From: KQED
Here's one silver lining to a slow economy: High recycling rates. Americans are wasting far less, and recycling far more. Nowhere is the trend as strong as in California. As ...
As Renewables Boom, California Struggles to Quit Coal
(00:05:09)
From: KQED
California is known for its "green" reputation. Just look at all the new solar and wind farms popping up around the state. So it might be a surprise that residents in ...
Mercury Rises on Coal Costs
(00:04:03)
From: KQED
Half of the airborne mercury pollution in the US comes from coal-fired power plants. After years of study and debate, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to ...
The View from Coal Country in the Age of Green
(00:04:10)
From: KQED
Coal produces nearly half the electricity in the U.S., but the mercury, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide it emits also make it one of the most controversial energy sources. ...
A Difficult Path for Clean Coal
(00:04:05)
From: KQED
Coal generates half of all the electricity in the U.S. It’s also the biggest source of global-warming emissions and other air pollution. The coal industry acknowledges this ...
Condor Rescue
(00:04:57)
From: KQED
A condor refuge recovers after a wildfire, and volunteers prepare for a dramatic release.
Why Don't Kids Learn Science Anymore?
(00:04:39)
From: KQED
Despite high-tech hubs like Silicon Valley, California's science literacy is in steep decline.
Related Pieces
Broadcast History
Aired locally on WPR in July 2011
Transcript
Ambi...
CORNWELL: “You can see behind the employees the conveyor with all the CRT picture tubes.”
Jim Cornwell is the president of Universal Recycling Technologies in Janesville, Wisconsin. It's what they call a “cradle-to-grave” electronics recycling company.
CORNWELL: “And those tubes are going up into the machine that ...separates the leaded glass from the borosilicate, or panel, glass. From there….(fade the rest under it goes into another machine th--at actually cleans the glass so we can send it back to the glass manufacturers for reuse.”)
Since Wisconsin's e-waste law took effect last year, Cornwell has added over 40 new employees at the Janesville facility. And while the state did not keep ewaste data before the program began, they have seen a 34% increase in ewaste collections in the last 6 months. The law has helped take in what would have languished in someone’s basement or...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Intro: Every year, Americans throw away more than 300 million outdated lap tops, cell phones, printers, broken computer monitors and old television sets. But only 18-percent of all that electronic waste is recycled, according to the EPA. Hoping to cut down on the growing mountain of high-tech trash, two dozen states have passed laws that require the electronics industry to pay to set up recycling programs. But navigating this patchwork of legislation has been a challenge. Todd Witter reports from Wisconsin.
OUTRO:Listen to other Recycling in America radio stories on our website.
Related Website
Of 3 purchasers of this piece...
- 3 also bought:
Harvest Home (00:58:56) - 2 also bought:
- 2 also bought:
Thanksgiving story (00:05:51) - 2 also bought:
Singing Sanitation Worker (00:04:51) - 2 also bought:Santa Laws (00:03:33)
