1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tex Stuff from half 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: stuff dot com. Hey there, and welcome to text Stuff. 3 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: I'm Jonathan Strickland, and and today we're gonna talk about 4 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: something that we've actually mentioned on previous episodes of text Stuff, 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: and that's recycling electronics. A long time ago, Chris and 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: I did a full episode on electronic waste or e 7 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: waste and talked about the dangers of it and why 8 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: you would want to recycle or refurbish goods that are 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: electronics consumer electronics. But we thought it was worth revisiting 10 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: this because things have developed in the time since we recorded. 11 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,959 Speaker 1: Things have changed. Yes, tech Stuff has been around for 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: five almost six years now. Tech Stuff was invented shortly 13 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: before the Internet. We used to Chris and I at 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: the back in the day used to just find people 15 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: and talk to them about technology as they asked us 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: to please let them go. But now we've got a 17 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: different arrangement. Um we can reach a much broader audience, 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: although we are not able to hold them until we're done. 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: Other than that, though, I think things have improved. I 20 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: think I think that is coming in the future. I 21 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,559 Speaker 1: think that some kind of haptic feedback shock shock system 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: if you pause or you are allowed to listen to 23 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: us at two times speed, but only if it pitches 24 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: our voices up, because we like being chipmunks. Speak for 25 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: yourself at any rate. Okay, let's let's talk about recycling. 26 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: So this, this really is a major problem. Green Peace 27 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:45,400 Speaker 1: estimates that million tons, million tons. That's that's eight million 28 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: metric tons f y i um of of e waste 29 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: is generated every year, right and and and before we 30 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: get a lot of emails saying, but that screen piece, 31 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: you know, that bias, etcetera. We totally understand a lot 32 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: of the sources we're pulling from our various organizations that 33 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: have very specific philosophies when it comes to recycling. However, 34 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: when it comes down to this one, I found lots 35 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: and lots of different estimates that all came from different 36 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: sources that essentially gravitated around this fifty million ton mark. 37 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: So I pretty much subscribe to that now the million one. 38 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 1: That one was quoted back in two thousand nine, So 39 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: fifty million. It's not a surprise that that number has 40 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,519 Speaker 1: crept up to the higher end of that scale since then, 41 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: I mean two thousand nine, we still had just the 42 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: very dawn of the smartphone era as far as the 43 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,359 Speaker 1: consumers were concerned, right, I mean, the iPhone had only 44 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,399 Speaker 1: been out for a couple of years. Now we've got iPads, 45 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: all these other kinds of tablets, all smartphones of all 46 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: shapes and sizes, tons of different types of computers and 47 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: video game consoles and all these other kind of elements. 48 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: Not a big shock to see that there's this massive 49 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: amount of stuff. And on top of that, the world 50 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 1: of technology is one that encourages us to consume. Right. 51 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: Oh sure, well, I mean every everyone wants, or not 52 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 1: everyone necessarily, but most of us want, you know, the new, big, 53 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: shiny thing, and and we want it to perform to 54 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: our specifications. You know, we want to do that that 55 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: stuff that makes it useful, which frequently means getting the 56 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: new one as soon as it comes out, because we 57 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: don't we don't want to feel like we're missing out 58 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: on something, right. I mean, as an Android user, I 59 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: feel this very keenly. You know. I think in some ways, 60 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: Apple users have the better end of the deal, in 61 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: the sense that they can generally expect that their products, 62 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: specifically things like the iPhone and the iPad, will update 63 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: once a year. iPads a little different. We saw two 64 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: updates come a couple of years ago, in one year, 65 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: in fact, like six months apart from each other, seven 66 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: months something like that. But in general, the iPhone tends 67 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: to get one update per year, and so while you 68 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: still have that regular are drive to upgrade your devices. 69 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: It's not like Android, where a new handset comes out 70 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: from different manufacturers on a weekly basis. But either way, 71 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: the message that we get from marketing, from companies, even 72 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: from our peers is that you are missing out if 73 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: you don't have the latest thing. But that means you 74 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: have to do something with the old things you have. 75 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: They will slowly accumulate in your home or maybe not 76 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: so slowly, depending upon how how big a tech geek 77 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: you are. I've got friends who it's like you walk 78 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,839 Speaker 1: into the computer history museum when you when you walk 79 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: into their place, and you might have a junk drawer 80 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: that's just junk smartphones from the last couple of years. 81 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,799 Speaker 1: But what's the responsible way of dealing with these things, 82 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: of of offloading these electronics that aren't really you know, 83 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: you're not using them, You're using the newest thing, So 84 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: what do you do with the old ones? I mean 85 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: apart from hand me downs to our friends and relatives, 86 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 1: what do you do beyond that? I personally keep a 87 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: few of them around as important curios of my past. 88 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: I still have a beeper. Wow, yeah you had. Okay, 89 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: there's a dark part of your past. I want to 90 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: explore at some point because I I was, I was 91 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: that person who while I cover technology and I love 92 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 1: technology people, I mean I absolutely I am obsessed with it. 93 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: I am also not the earliest of adopters, with a 94 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: few exceptions, uh Android, I was an early adopter, but 95 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,359 Speaker 1: cell phones. I held off a long time on cell phones, 96 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: so I was on the end of the like the 97 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: initial rush had already happened. I was in the long tale. 98 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: Maybe at the beginning of the long tail. It wasn't 99 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: It wasn't like it was two thousand five or anything 100 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: like that. But anyway, we have this encouraging culture built 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: around electronics that encourage us to consume to buy new things, 102 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: and then we have to worry about the old things. 103 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: And until fairly recently, it hasn't been that public a 104 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: concern about what to do with the old stuff. Now 105 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: there were there were organizations and people who are thinking 106 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: about this. For a couple of decades, sure, going all 107 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: the way back to the nineteen seventies is really when 108 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: people started becoming more concerned about what to do with 109 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: with solid wastes in general and um and hazardous wastes 110 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: in particular, and uh and and through through the years 111 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: since then, various organizing bodies around the world have been, um, 112 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: you know, just trying to raise awareness and and create 113 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: laws for individual countries to to adopt. And we'll get 114 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: into that a little bit more later on. But um, 115 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:45,559 Speaker 1: but yeah, so I mean, it's it's it's been in people. 116 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: Was when the Basil Convention first put out a series 117 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: of agreements that were like, hey, we should be thinking 118 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: about this because this is a problem, right right, And 119 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: and you know, the environmental movement, like you said, began 120 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: in the seventy nineteen seventy was when the first Earth 121 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: Day happened. And but but that was really looking at 122 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: traditional waste problems. Electronic waste in nineteen seventy wasn't really 123 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: a big thing. You know, you would buy an appliance 124 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: and you would keep that appliance until it was broken 125 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: beyond repair and then you would get a new one. 126 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: But other than that and you know, you weren't necessarily 127 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: upgrading your television that frequently or any of the other 128 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: consumer electronics that were popular in the seventies. It wasn't 129 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: really until we got to like the portable electronics of 130 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: the mid seventies and then the personal computer era. Also, 131 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: I mean, we didn't have circuit boards in every toaster, like, 132 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: we didn't have smart toasters yet, so it was a 133 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: little bit less of a specific issue stupid toaster. So 134 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: let's look at some statistics about electronics and recycling and 135 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: and just tossing stuff away. Uh. This is all information 136 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: that I pulled from the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Incorporated. 137 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: They had a presentation that was all about the staff 138 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: and the stats here mostly date from twelve, so they're 139 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: pretty current. Uh. Keeping in mind, there are other stats 140 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: that we could talk about. The Environmental Protection Agency that 141 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: a report back in two thousand nine that said that 142 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: only about a quarter of all the electronics ready for 143 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: end of life management, meaning they are you are done 144 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: with them, you do not want them anymore, only were 145 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: collected for recycling back in two thousand nine, and the 146 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: total weight of electronics ready to be discarded or recycled 147 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: was about two point three seven million tons in two 148 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: thousand nine. Now again that was for the United States. 149 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 1: We're talking fifty million tons annually worldwide. So uh, for 150 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Incorporated. They have some 151 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: other interesting statistics. They said that the United States exported 152 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: forty seven point three million metric tons of scrap material 153 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: in two thousand twelve. Now that includes more than just electronics. 154 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: It's not that that's all electronics. Because these numbers start 155 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: to conflict with each other. You're thinking, wait, we're producing 156 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: the world's producing fifty million, but the US is exporting 157 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 1: forty seven point three million, So this this is overall 158 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: all scrap, right, And then they said that the value 159 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: of the scrap materials was estimated at about twenty six 160 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: billion dollars, a lot of money. According to the Federal 161 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: Trade Commission in two thousand eleven, um, the the U 162 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: s export of used electronic products was one point four 163 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: five billion. So so that's of of that share, Yeah, 164 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,199 Speaker 1: of the twenty six billion, one point four five being electronics, 165 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: being like like above the table, electronics, like when we're 166 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 1: not talking about because there is an issue with people 167 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: illegally exporting right right there. We'll get into that too. Uh. 168 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,839 Speaker 1: So that that scrap that we're exporting, that the United 169 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,320 Speaker 1: States is exporting. When I say we, I'm talking about 170 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: the United States because that's again, once again we say 171 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: this all the time. That's where that's where Lauren and 172 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 1: I live. But the you know, obviously e waste is 173 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: a global issue, it's not. In fact, that's it's a 174 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: global issue mainly because the United States and countries like it, 175 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: because developed countries have been exporting waste to developing countries 176 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: and up. Yeah, it's it's a big mess. Although there 177 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: are a lot of people working very hard to clean 178 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 1: that mess up. So a hundred sixty different countries received 179 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: this scrap material that we were exporting, and uh, when 180 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: you get down to the actual electronic waste they're about. 181 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: The United States process is about four million tons of 182 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: electronic waste for recycling each year. That's uh, there're about 183 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: six million tons in the United States that get sent 184 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: out for recycling, but only four million of it are 185 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: processed within the United States itself. So the rest of 186 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: it has to go somewhere else because we just don't 187 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: have the capacity to process more than that UH currently, 188 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: although that could change as companies begin to explore the 189 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: potential of recycling in the US. A part of the 190 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: issue is also cost effectiveness UM. Until UM possibly today, 191 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: it's been pretty hard for h companies to in the 192 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: US to compete with recycling plants outside of the US, 193 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: partially because a lot of recycling plants in developing countries 194 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:30,679 Speaker 1: aren't certified and UM aren't being responsible with their workers 195 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: health or their waste management management practices. Essentially, what it 196 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: comes down to is economics, right, you get you have 197 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: an economic incentive to ship this stuff overseas because there 198 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: are processing facilities and collectors who pay their employees very 199 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: very very little. Because it's a different country and in 200 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: that country the laws are completely different than they are 201 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: in the United States and other developed countries, so it's 202 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: cheaper to send it out rather then process it at home. 203 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: And because you look at business decisions with that dollar 204 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,200 Speaker 1: sign in mind more often than not. Not to say 205 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: that all companies do this, but but it's a general trend, 206 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: especially if you're answering to shareholders, and shareholders are interesting 207 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 1: getting a return on their investment. You're looking for the 208 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: cheapest way to do the work possible, and that might 209 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: involve sending stuff off to a company that doesn't pay 210 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: its employees very well and doesn't really care about their 211 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: health or safety. UM. And that's like Lauren alluded to, 212 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,560 Speaker 1: that might be changing big time in the United States. 213 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:38,839 Speaker 1: But we'll get to that. So s of all e 214 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: waste collective for recycling comes from commercial businesses in the 215 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: United States, only twenty five percent came from residential sources. 216 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: And so the Institute actually identified that as an area 217 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: of opportunity to increase collection and recycling programs within the 218 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: United States to cater specifically for regular citizens, so that 219 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 1: we would have an outlet that would be easy to access. UH. 220 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: And there are multiple ways of going about that, whether 221 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: it's some sort of government funded program or a completely 222 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 1: privatized service. UH. That that was left up in the 223 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: air that the program wasn't or the presentation wasn't about that. 224 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: It was just saying, here's some opportunity. Also, eighty two 225 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: point eight percent of all collected e waste in the 226 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: United States was recycled, reused, or refurbished within the US, 227 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: and then seventeen point two percent of the collected e waste. 228 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: Keep in mind this is just the stuff that was 229 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: collected for recycling. There is a lot of it that's 230 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: just going to land. Yeah, but seventeen point two percent 231 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: of that collected E waste by weight was exported to 232 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,320 Speaker 1: other countries. Now, if you look at all the e 233 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,479 Speaker 1: waste collected, twelve point one percent of it was exported 234 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: as testing or working products, meaning that these are things 235 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: that were still in working order that could be donated 236 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: to other countries so that they yeah, so they could 237 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: either be sold in that country or used in some 238 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: sort of school program or whatever. Some of it was 239 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: ready for repair or refurbishment, some of it was just 240 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: in working order. But that remaining five point one percent 241 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: of all of the electronic waste we collected ended up 242 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: being exported without us really knowing what the final destination 243 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: or purpose was, which is troublesome because, like we said, 244 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: there are some of these companies out there that are 245 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 1: behaving in ways that we would call unethical, you know, 246 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: questionable things that where they're not treating uh, the workers 247 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: very well, they aren't looking after people's health and safety. 248 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 1: Um and when you're taught, I mean, you know, five 249 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: percent sounds like like a small number until you're thinking 250 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: about five of a few million tons, and it's like, oh, yeah, 251 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: that's that's a problem. And these are real people and 252 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: real lives, you know. I mean human beings who have 253 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: families and they have their own problems, and but one 254 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: of those problems might be that they are dealing with 255 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 1: material that could be very toxic in a dangerous way. 256 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 1: We'll get into that later on as well. So with 257 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: that five point one percent, they call it the sliver 258 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: in in the presentation because when you're looking at it, 259 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: if you look at it just from a percentage point 260 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: of view, like you said, Lauren, you have this tendency 261 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: to say, oh, it's just five percent. But they point 262 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: out that sliver is incredibly important and you cannot ignore 263 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: it because to do so is irresponsible. So and again, 264 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: this is just the United States. There are other countries 265 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: that also export electronic waste to developing nations. So it's 266 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: it's a problem that goes beyond just the US. It's 267 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: just that those are again the figures that are easiest 268 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: for us to get because we happen to live here 269 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: right right as as it turns out that the European 270 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: Union is a little bit ahead of the the US 271 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: and the entire game they have. They have passed the 272 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: UM European Waste Shipment Regulation, which UM has adopted some 273 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: of the statutes put out by multinational organizations for for better, better, 274 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: more responsible, responsible treatments of these products. And uh what 275 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 1: what actually happens to this recycling? The stuff that's being 276 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: sent out to be turned into other stuff not just 277 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: refurbished or repurposed of it is recycled into specification grade 278 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: commodity scrap, which includes things like aluminum or a copper 279 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 1: or scrap steel. Ten of it's resold as functioning equipment 280 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: and components for direct resale. So only ten percent of 281 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: all the stuff we send out is actually being used 282 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: again in that respect. Uh an eighteen percent of it's 283 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: resold as equipment and components for further repair and refurbishment. 284 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: So that may mean that you're not just like like 285 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: the computer you donate might have some stuff that they 286 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: they salvage from the computer to use either to sell 287 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: directly or to put into something else, and then other 288 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,280 Speaker 1: parts might just join that scrap. So the majority of 289 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: it is going as just scrap. It's not not being 290 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: reused or refurbished or anything like that, So why would 291 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: you want to recycle in the first place. Well, part 292 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: of it is that the idea of donating your electronics, 293 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: anything that's in working order, then extends the lifespan of 294 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 1: that device, which makes the device more valuable to people 295 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: in general and also can can specifically help people in need. 296 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: There's a bunch of different programs, um you know, cellphones 297 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 1: for soldiers, or a lot of domestic abuse hotline kind 298 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: of places will accept cell phones. Forum for for for 299 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: victims to use to get help. The World Computer Exchange 300 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 1: accepts computers for donation. It's one of the more reputable 301 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: organizations there are. There are quite a few actually that 302 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: have incredible reputations. They are known for being responsible and 303 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,440 Speaker 1: for accepting donations. It's important that you do research when 304 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: you need to recycle or electronics, and we'll talk more 305 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: about that in the second half too, but just a 306 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: general note, if you are going to recycle anything, make 307 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: sure that what whatever outlets you're looking at our responsible ones. 308 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: So one sort of materials are getting recycled when we're 309 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: recycling electronics. It's pretty much the same sort of stuff 310 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: you would think of when you're sorting through your recycling. 311 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,159 Speaker 1: You know, if you have like a recycled bin or 312 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: several bins that you have to sort through the same 313 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: sort of stuff. In general, it's just they happen to 314 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: be combined into products. And it's changing slightly, um as 315 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 1: the phase of electronics change. I mean, if you're recycling 316 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: your old CRT monitor, then that's going to be a 317 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 1: different set of stuff, right, different components and say a 318 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: flat screen digital display or plasma TV even because you know, 319 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: when I think of recycling electronics, I'm always thinking of smartphones, tablets, 320 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: and computers. But really we're talking televisions, we're talking microwaves, 321 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: We're talking about anything that's a consumer electronic, right, you know, 322 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,920 Speaker 1: not just the the stuff that Jonathan thinks of his 323 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: consumer electronics because he has a very narrow view of 324 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,919 Speaker 1: the world. Um So, really we're looking at glass, plastic, 325 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: and metals being the chief components that go into this 326 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: whole recycling uh. And I thought it might be fun 327 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: to talk a little bit about the outcome of that, 328 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,680 Speaker 1: like why why do we recycle these things? How efficient is? 329 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense because there are people who say 330 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: that at least some things that we recycle, it doesn't 331 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:32,359 Speaker 1: make a whole sense to recycle them, and that is 332 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: that is partially true. We actually just did a two 333 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,919 Speaker 1: part series on recycling for Forward Thinking. Yeah, so if 334 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: you guys are aren't listening to Forward Thinking, you should 335 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: check that out and watch the video series two. It's 336 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: I'm having a blast doing it and Lauren joins me 337 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: and also the series writer Joe he's on that audio 338 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,920 Speaker 1: podcast too, and the three of us. Yeah, it's yes, 339 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: there is an X. That is true. Uh, it's only 340 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 1: for forward thinking. We do not have the AX for 341 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: tech stuff. You don't get to see the AX, but 342 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,920 Speaker 1: you get to hear refer to it once in a 343 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: rare while. But yeah, so so so so so glass. 344 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,400 Speaker 1: Yeah so glass. This is one of the trickiest ones, 345 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,119 Speaker 1: right because glass, If you were to recycle glass, you 346 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: end up saving about thirty of the energy you would 347 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: need to manufacture glass out of raw materials. So that 348 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: means that you're expending seventy of the energy that you 349 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: would require if you were just starting from scratch, right, 350 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: So is not a huge amount of savings. And depending 351 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,879 Speaker 1: upon how the sorting facility does the sorting for glass, 352 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: it can actually require more energy and time to sort 353 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: through it starts to make the whole recycling process a 354 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: bit questionable for certain communities. Not not the case everywhere. 355 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: Some facilities have very sophisticated sorting equipment that make this 356 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: go very easily. Others do not. So glass is one 357 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: of those things that I recommend. If you can reuse 358 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: the stuff, reuse it. Uh. If you cannot reuse it, 359 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: recycle it. The other part about glass that makes it 360 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: kind of uh, you know, it makes it the least 361 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: wasteful in a way is that the raw material that 362 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: we use to make glass is plentiful since it's mainly sand. 363 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: So it's not like we're running on a shortage of sand. 364 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,680 Speaker 1: We haven't hit peak sand yet, right. No, No, I 365 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: think that of all of all the elements that we 366 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: are concerned about, um and not that sand is an element. 367 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:40,040 Speaker 1: That's right, that's all the elements in the sense of factors. Uh. 368 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: And also glass is non toxic, so if it ends 369 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: up in a landfill, at least you know it's not 370 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: going to be I mean, assuming it's not lead glass, 371 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: it's not going to be leaching toxins into the environment. 372 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: We don't want glass to end up in landfill, so 373 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: don't get me wrong there. I would much prefer that 374 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,719 Speaker 1: you reuse it if you can, or recycle it if 375 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: you cannot. But keep in mind some recycling facilities end 376 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,439 Speaker 1: up sending a lot of glass landfills anyway. I mean 377 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: it just I I keep on hoping for the improvement 378 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,399 Speaker 1: there so that we don't have to worry about that, uh, 379 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:12,919 Speaker 1: Because mainly what I'm looking at here is an energy 380 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,280 Speaker 1: saving model, because if you're saving energy, that means that 381 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 1: you are also emitting fewer greenhouse gases. This is a huge, 382 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: big picture thing. And also I mean also saving money, 383 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: because what it really comes down to for you know, unfortunately, 384 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 1: but this is the way the world works is is 385 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: an economic factor of whether it is worth someone's time. 386 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: Right right, then we have plastic, and plastic is actually 387 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: a little more complicated, in fact, a lot more complicated, 388 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,640 Speaker 1: because there are a lot of different types of plastic 389 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,880 Speaker 1: and some are easier to recycle than others, like pet 390 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:48,159 Speaker 1: plastic or polyethylene tariff thallt plastic. Good job, Yeah, it 391 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: only took two tries, you guys. I hope missed the 392 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 1: first try, unless Noel is feeling vindictive, in which case 393 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 1: he kept it in there Noel is noncommittal anyway. So 394 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,359 Speaker 1: pet plastic this is the stuff that you see in 395 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 1: like clear bottles, like plastic bottles, soda bottles, water bottles, 396 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 1: that kind of thing that tends to be pet plastic. 397 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: And it's very easy for us to recycle that and 398 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: if we if we do, we save eighty four percent 399 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: of the energy we use in plastic production from raw 400 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: materials and sevent of the greenhouse gas emissions, So eighty 401 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: four percent less energy, fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Obviously, recycling 402 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,919 Speaker 1: this type of plastic makes sense from multiple perspectives. However, however, 403 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,200 Speaker 1: your electronics are not always made out of the same 404 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: plastics that your soda bottles are. Yeah, so that that 405 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: is an issue. That does mean that, you know, not 406 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: all of the types of plastic are going to save 407 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: that same amount of energy and greenhouse gases. And part 408 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: of that is just that the amount of plastic we produce, 409 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: a lot of it is that pet plastic. So that's 410 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: where a lot of the work has been done in recycling. 411 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: So it's one of those things that as we continue 412 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: to use these other types of plastic, I expect we'll 413 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: have more improved processes for dealing with it in a 414 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: recycling uh perspective. But something else to keep in mind 415 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 1: now when it comes to metals, Metals are one of 416 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,919 Speaker 1: those things that just makes perfect sense to recycle. Depending 417 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: upon the metal, it can be a huge savings. So, 418 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: for example, aluminium, you can save way more energy by 419 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: recycling aluminum than you would if you were to try 420 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: and produce aluminium by mining stuff and refining it and 421 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: then and then using it in products. So it makes 422 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: you save a lot of energy and fewer greenhouse gas 423 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: emissions if you just recycle. Yeah, I don't have the 424 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: number in front of me that I remember being like 425 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:42,399 Speaker 1: over yeah, it's it's I think you end up spending 426 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 1: like six percent of the energy you would need to 427 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: produce it from raw materials if you're looking at the 428 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: big picture, everything from the mining operation to all the 429 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: way down to finally getting whatever the product is. So 430 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 1: aluminium makes tons of sense. Steel is also a very 431 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 1: good candidate. It's not nearly as uh big savings on 432 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: energy as aluminum is, but still good. And then there 433 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 1: are a lot of precious metals that we tend to 434 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: use in electronics, gold being one of the more popular ones. 435 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: One of the more frequently found ones, but you can 436 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: even find depending upon the device, you can even find 437 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: stuff like platinum, which is pretty darn rare and extremely valuable. 438 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: So you want to be able to reclaim as much 439 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: of that as possible and not just toss it away. 440 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 1: Plan them, by the way, not used in most common 441 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,680 Speaker 1: consumer electronics. It's it's actually that would be hit the 442 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: price point of you know, not really for consumers. This 443 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: would be for the rich people who want to have 444 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:41,200 Speaker 1: ridiculously luxurious items. Uh that's a little editorializing, but it's 445 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: also true anyway. But you can also find other other 446 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: metals like copper. Copper is one of those that is 447 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,480 Speaker 1: obviously really important in electronics. It's one of those conductors 448 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 1: that we use over and over again, and so we 449 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,720 Speaker 1: want to reclaim as much of that as possible because 450 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: there are reports that were hitting peak copper and that 451 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: before long our copper that we're bringing in from mining 452 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,399 Speaker 1: operations is just going to start to drop, and that 453 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,920 Speaker 1: will affect the way the electronics market moves from that 454 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,880 Speaker 1: point forward. So these are the items that were really 455 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: interested in when we're recycling, assuming that you're not just 456 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: reusing that device refurbishing it so that you extend the life. 457 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: These are the sort of things that we can pull 458 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: out of these devices and then use again, either in 459 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:33,200 Speaker 1: future electronics or you know whatever. Like most glass ends 460 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: up becoming containers. Plastic, same thing. Most plastic ends up 461 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: becoming a container. Aluminum, same thing. Most aluminum tends to 462 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: turn out to end up being aluminum cans. But it 463 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,040 Speaker 1: does mean that we don't have to spend the energy 464 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 1: and time to get those raw materials, and also the 465 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 1: environmental impact of getting those and those raw materials gets decreased. 466 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: So it's a good idea. Um. Beyond that, there's some 467 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:03,200 Speaker 1: financial benefits or potential financial benefits, right, aren't there a 468 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: bunch of tax programs in In effect, there are a 469 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: lot of tax programs. It all depends on where you live. 470 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: Obviously within the United States. If you are donating a 471 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 1: device to a nonprofit organization and official recognized nonprofit organization, 472 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: not like your aunt, right, you can get a right 473 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 1: off on your taxes, but you have to come to 474 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,920 Speaker 1: an agreement with the nonprofit organization as to how much 475 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: that particular device is valued. You know, you have to 476 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: you have to figure out what the amount is for it, 477 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: because if you're if you're donating a computer that's eight 478 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: years old, it may be that there's negligible value there. 479 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: A lot of these programs will make it pretty easy 480 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:48,200 Speaker 1: for you. Um most of them will will send you 481 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 1: a free shipping label and and you know they want 482 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: you to do this. They you know, for for both 483 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:58,439 Speaker 1: environment environmental reasons and for you know, maybe not profit 484 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 1: if they're a nonprofit, but but it's it's worth money, 485 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 1: right And in fact, if you if you'd rather not 486 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,159 Speaker 1: go the nonprofit route, I mean, I don't know if 487 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: you would rather sell your devices. Obviously, there are multiple 488 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: ways of doing that. You could do that yourself. You 489 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 1: could sell it on something like Craigslist or eBay. Uh, 490 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 1: there are certain programs where if you didn't want to 491 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:21,760 Speaker 1: sell it, you just wanted to give it away, but 492 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:23,360 Speaker 1: you know, you just want to get away to someone 493 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 1: within your community. There are a lot of different organizations 494 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 1: that do that here in Atlanta. I know that there's 495 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,520 Speaker 1: a community called free Cycle, which I assume is operating 496 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 1: in other communities as well. But on free Cycle, you 497 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: would just go on and create a post very much 498 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: like eBay or Craigslist and say here's what I have. 499 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,280 Speaker 1: I'm giving it away. The first person who wants it 500 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: gets it. And uh, my wife loves that program. I 501 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: have some interesting furniture because of it. And then there 502 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: are things like Gazelle. Gazelle is just one of several 503 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: different programs that will buy old electronics for you know, 504 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: whatever the value is at that time. Keeping in mind, 505 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: electronics depreciate just like any other product, and the electronics 506 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: something yeah. Yeah, So so you're gonna get You're gonna 507 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: get a fraction of what you paid for it. But 508 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: it does mean that you get some money back which 509 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: you can then use to, you know, finance your habit 510 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: of buying new electronics. I mean is addictive. I I've 511 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: gone through a smart watch, crazy, Lauren. I don't own 512 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: one yet, but I've got like five of them on 513 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: order now. I am not kidding. I ordered another one 514 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: just the other day. So it's the Agent, the Pebble, 515 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: the world's thinnest watch, which technically isn't a smart watch 516 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: but is pretty cool. And then there was one more 517 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: that I ordered just on indiego go or supported on 518 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: indigog the other day. I've got a problem, Lauren, you 519 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: I think I think that we need to take a 520 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: moment and talk about this problem. And in the meanwhile, 521 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: let us let us pause for a break, for a break, yeah, 522 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 1: from our sponsor. We'll take a quick break to thank 523 00:29:54,640 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 1: our sponsor. Alright, we're back. I'm out of risk because 524 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: of all the smart watches, but we're also uh, we're 525 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: actually running on a tight schedule today. There's a couple 526 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: of guys who need to come into the podcast studio 527 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: in a minute, right, I've never heard of some guys, 528 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,000 Speaker 1: but they're recording their episode next. So we want to 529 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: talk quickly about some of the responsibilities and dangers associated 530 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 1: with recycling. We we've alluded to them earlier, but we 531 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: need to actually address them now. Uh yeah, um, so 532 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 1: so interesting breaking news as of this morning, this morning 533 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:35,920 Speaker 1: being July, representatives of the U. S. Congress have have 534 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: announced that they have a act that they're trying to 535 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 1: pass called the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act a k arira um. 536 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 1: This this would be an update of the Resource Conservation 537 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: and Recovery Act, which was originally passed in the nineteen seventies, 538 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy six to be precise. Um, and uh, it's 539 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: it's updating it to to the basically just um prohibit 540 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: the export of restricted electronic waste from the US two 541 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: countries that are not members of responsible organizations that right 542 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 1: that that that that regulate the way that these things 543 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 1: are handled. And the reason for that is because electronics 544 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: can have some pretty nasty stuff in them, like the 545 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 1: plastics themselves can release lots of toxic materials as you 546 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: process them. Processing in this case may involve doing things 547 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 1: like not just shredding it up and incinerating it, which 548 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 1: can release some terrible toxins. But even when done responsibly, exactly, yeah, 549 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,080 Speaker 1: you have to have you have to have capture systems 550 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 1: to capture those gases that are given off, and ideally 551 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: you're not incinerating stuff in the first place, but some 552 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,360 Speaker 1: of the stuff does get incinerated. Uh. But there's also 553 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 1: a practice of dipping some of these things in acid 554 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 1: baths to burn away everything other than the precious metals 555 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: that you want to get at, and that can produce 556 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 1: some terrible byproducts. The acids themselves are hazardous, then you 557 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 1: get some byproducts that are dangerous. Some of the fumes 558 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: that of off our toxic it can have health and 559 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: environmental impact of the community. All around. Even if you 560 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 1: aren't directly exposed to it on a day to day 561 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: basis as part of your job, it can impact your community. 562 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 1: And in fact, there are areas in China that are 563 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: known for being these toxic communities that are just filled 564 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 1: with lots of of well, lots of toxic chemicals and 565 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: as a result, people have suffered some pretty serious health 566 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: hazards health issues because of this. So that's why this 567 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,440 Speaker 1: act was proposed in the United States was to try 568 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: and make sure that we create a responsible conduit for 569 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,840 Speaker 1: recycling so that we minimize the environmental and health impact 570 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: that can happen as a result of coming into contact 571 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 1: with the stuff. And you might think, well, what kind 572 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: of stuff besides plastic are in electronics? All about mercury? 573 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:52,400 Speaker 1: That's pretty toxic stuff, fairly toxic, especially if you're if 574 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:55,160 Speaker 1: you're just playing with it. Um lead, Yeah, yeah, these 575 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,680 Speaker 1: are things that can cause neurological issues. Both mercury and 576 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 1: lead can cause neurologic cold problems, including things like blindness, 577 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: cognitive issues, and prolonged exposure can lead to to deadly poisoning. 578 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,400 Speaker 1: It can be fatal. You have stuff like cadmium, which 579 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 1: can damage lungs and kidneys and cause environmental damage if 580 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:16,600 Speaker 1: that leaches into the ground if you were just to 581 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 1: put in a landfill and sulfur sulf Sulfuric acid is 582 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,560 Speaker 1: one of the two elements along with lead that um 583 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: again components not elements, apologies UM that that makes up 584 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 1: every all of the batteries that you use, all the 585 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:34,440 Speaker 1: double A batteries, batteries that you're using there there are 586 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 1: lots of batteries that have sulfur in them and that 587 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 1: can lead to sulfuric acid that can cause damage to kidneys, eyes, liver, 588 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: and heart so uh and and you know the methods 589 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 1: of recycling, like if you're actually recycling this stuff, you 590 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,320 Speaker 1: tend to be grinding it up into tiny little bits, 591 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 1: especially for the plastic uh. So that can if you're 592 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: incinerating any of that, that can cause problems. Obviously you 593 00:33:57,920 --> 00:33:59,960 Speaker 1: can be dipping them in the acids like I said before, 594 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: or that's a problem. So it's you know, you want 595 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: to make sure that this stuff is going to a 596 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 1: responsible entity that is going to take care of this 597 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:13,040 Speaker 1: material and make sure one that it's doing its best 598 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:16,880 Speaker 1: to maintain the health and safety uh. Concerns of all 599 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 1: of the employees and to just making sure that that 600 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:22,840 Speaker 1: material is actually getting recycled and not just dumped somewhere, 601 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: not just taking your money. Uh, because some of these 602 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 1: centers are operating on contracts that are working with big 603 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 1: companies or whatever, not just taking the money and then 604 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,440 Speaker 1: just dumping the stuff, but actually doing what they're supposed 605 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 1: to be doing. So part of that process meant that 606 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:43,400 Speaker 1: there needed to be some sort of certification. There's some 607 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: sort of third party certification that would guarantee that people 608 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,040 Speaker 1: were being responsible and accountable. And there are a couple 609 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: of different programs in the United States that have come 610 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,399 Speaker 1: up because of that. E Stewards is one of them. 611 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,799 Speaker 1: That's one I see all the time is the if 612 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:02,719 Speaker 1: it as the Eastwards certification on it, That means it's 613 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 1: been inspected and certified by a third party entity and 614 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 1: that it is behaving in a responsible manner when it 615 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,359 Speaker 1: comes to recycling your products. So if you are thinking 616 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: about recycling stuff, do your research, look into what is 617 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,800 Speaker 1: available in your area and see if it is in 618 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,600 Speaker 1: fact certified. Right d e p A actually has a 619 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:24,880 Speaker 1: like an interactive map up on their website that that 620 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,960 Speaker 1: breaks down a lot of local places that have been 621 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,120 Speaker 1: independently certified right. Another one is the responsible Recycling practices 622 00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 1: that's called r TOO. No notice there about what happened 623 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: to d too. But are two is there? Um? And 624 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: also a lot of manufacturers have their own recycling programs, 625 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:43,720 Speaker 1: so you can look into the manufacturer that produced whatever 626 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,120 Speaker 1: the product is and see if they have a recommendation. Yeah, 627 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:48,839 Speaker 1: because there may be a program where you just send 628 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:50,799 Speaker 1: it right back to the company and then they will 629 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,160 Speaker 1: deal with it, or or even one of the places 630 00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:55,759 Speaker 1: that you have purchased your electronics from might have a 631 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,080 Speaker 1: similar program like I I know that Staples and Best 632 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,800 Speaker 1: Buy do write stuff like that. One thing that we 633 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: need to bring up to your attention is what do 634 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:05,920 Speaker 1: you do with all that data that's on those devices? 635 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: Because you don't want to just toss your stuff that 636 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:11,960 Speaker 1: has all your personal information on it or other information. 637 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,600 Speaker 1: Britain researchers in Britain rent a program where they bought 638 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,120 Speaker 1: up three hundred used computers from various sources from various 639 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,360 Speaker 1: countries and then they wanted to see what kind of 640 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:23,480 Speaker 1: data they could find on them, and then about a 641 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:25,960 Speaker 1: hundred of them, so a third of the computers they bought. 642 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 1: They found sensitive information, not just personal info like social 643 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,880 Speaker 1: security numbers, although they did find that they on one 644 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,320 Speaker 1: of them, they found a test launch information on ground 645 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,319 Speaker 1: to air defense missiles. Yeah, not something you necessarily want 646 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 1: to get out. There also medical records, so very sensitive stuff. 647 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,680 Speaker 1: This was from hospitals that had not properly disposed of 648 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 1: the data. So if you want to donate some device 649 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,480 Speaker 1: that has your data on it, you have a couple 650 00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 1: of different options. I mean, of course, you could encrypt 651 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:55,759 Speaker 1: all that data. That will at least make it very 652 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,800 Speaker 1: difficult to access, and probably whoever gets hold of it 653 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:00,880 Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily want to act us it anyway. They want 654 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: to use the device. Right. But but but just reformatting 655 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: your drive is not good enough because you have to 656 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 1: reformat and overwrite that data to make it less accessible. 657 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:14,719 Speaker 1: Even then it's still potentially accessible. But there are a 658 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,000 Speaker 1: lot of programs out there that will overwrite your data 659 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:20,640 Speaker 1: with just nonsense, just junk zeros and ones essentially to 660 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,680 Speaker 1: uh obvious skate what was there and to to try 661 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:26,520 Speaker 1: and destroy it. Really, the only way to destroy it 662 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,520 Speaker 1: is to physically destroy the drive, take it out and 663 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:32,040 Speaker 1: just smash it up into tiny little pieces, but one 664 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:36,080 Speaker 1: that's dangerous to that's probably excessive. So following these other 665 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:41,439 Speaker 1: methods is most likely to work. So but but you know, yeah, 666 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:44,359 Speaker 1: it's it's to be to be absolutely safe, you might 667 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 1: hang on to the hard drive. Um, definitely take a 668 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:49,759 Speaker 1: SIM card out of any mobile device, right. Um. But 669 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:53,359 Speaker 1: but basically, yes, wiping and encrypting definitely an important thing 670 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,239 Speaker 1: to do. I mean, I've told this story before I 671 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:59,000 Speaker 1: bought my Xbox three sixty used and the gamer information 672 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:01,880 Speaker 1: was still on there. The gamer who had owned the 673 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: box before me had not wiped his or her data 674 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,680 Speaker 1: from the console. Now, I did do that, that was 675 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 1: the first thing I did when I got it, But 676 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:11,680 Speaker 1: it was one of those things that's just a reminder, 677 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,160 Speaker 1: you know, even for someone had been less honest than Jonathan. Yeah, 678 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:22,000 Speaker 1: which you know, hard to do. I'm a pretty big liar. Yeah. Anyway, 679 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,680 Speaker 1: So guys, that's kind of our episode. I know that 680 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:26,560 Speaker 1: it was a quick second half, but I can see 681 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:30,000 Speaker 1: Josh and Chuck just outside the podcast room, and Josh 682 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,040 Speaker 1: has got a bat and he's looking at me and 683 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,800 Speaker 1: slowly shaking his head. So I'm taking that as a 684 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,879 Speaker 1: cue that we should wrap up here. Keep in mind. 685 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 1: Recycling is good. We're totally in favor of it. Just 686 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:45,319 Speaker 1: do it responsibly, both for the environment, for people's health, 687 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:48,839 Speaker 1: and for your own personal data safety. All of these 688 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:52,319 Speaker 1: things are important. And uh, hey, I'm not gonna tell 689 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:56,080 Speaker 1: you not to buy another smart watch because I just 690 00:38:56,239 --> 00:38:59,080 Speaker 1: saw one online that I want. Anyway, guys, you enjoyed 691 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:00,880 Speaker 1: this episode, you have any comments, you have something you 692 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,160 Speaker 1: want to share about it, or you have suggestions for 693 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:05,640 Speaker 1: future topics, Get in touch with us. Let us know. 694 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:09,000 Speaker 1: Our address is tech stuff at Discovery dot com, or 695 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 1: find us on Facebook or Twitter or handle of both 696 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:14,040 Speaker 1: of those is tech Stuff hs W and Lauren and 697 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:21,920 Speaker 1: I will talk to you again really soon for more 698 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,319 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics. Does it has 699 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:25,279 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com