WEBVTT - Where Electronics Go When They Die 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.240 Get in touch with technology with tex Stuff from half 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:15.800 stuff dot com. Hey there, and welcome to text Stuff. 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:19.880 I'm Jonathan Strickland, and and today we're gonna talk about 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:24.120 something that we've actually mentioned on previous episodes of text Stuff, 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:28.840 and that's recycling electronics. A long time ago, Chris and 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.880 I did a full episode on electronic waste or e 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.440 waste and talked about the dangers of it and why 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:39.440 you would want to recycle or refurbish goods that are 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:44.560 electronics consumer electronics. But we thought it was worth revisiting 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:48.280 this because things have developed in the time since we recorded. 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:50.959 Things have changed. Yes, tech Stuff has been around for 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.680 five almost six years now. Tech Stuff was invented shortly 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:57.920 before the Internet. We used to Chris and I at 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.480 the back in the day used to just find people 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:02.760 and talk to them about technology as they asked us 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:06.240 to please let them go. But now we've got a 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.880 different arrangement. Um we can reach a much broader audience, 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.360 although we are not able to hold them until we're done. 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.000 Other than that, though, I think things have improved. I 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:18.760 think I think that is coming in the future. I 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.559 think that some kind of haptic feedback shock shock system 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:25.200 if you pause or you are allowed to listen to 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:27.880 us at two times speed, but only if it pitches 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:32.760 our voices up, because we like being chipmunks. Speak for 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:35.520 yourself at any rate. Okay, let's let's talk about recycling. 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.399 So this, this really is a major problem. Green Peace 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:45.400 estimates that million tons, million tons. That's that's eight million 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.760 metric tons f y i um of of e waste 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:51.680 is generated every year, right and and and before we 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.160 get a lot of emails saying, but that screen piece, 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:57.520 you know, that bias, etcetera. We totally understand a lot 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:02.080 of the sources we're pulling from our various organizations that 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.960 have very specific philosophies when it comes to recycling. However, 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.680 when it comes down to this one, I found lots 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.160 and lots of different estimates that all came from different 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:15.600 sources that essentially gravitated around this fifty million ton mark. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:22.440 So I pretty much subscribe to that now the million one. 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.079 That one was quoted back in two thousand nine, So 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:27.520 fifty million. It's not a surprise that that number has 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.519 crept up to the higher end of that scale since then, 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:32.840 I mean two thousand nine, we still had just the 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:35.760 very dawn of the smartphone era as far as the 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.359 consumers were concerned, right, I mean, the iPhone had only 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.399 been out for a couple of years. Now we've got iPads, 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.720 all these other kinds of tablets, all smartphones of all 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:49.640 shapes and sizes, tons of different types of computers and 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:53.320 video game consoles and all these other kind of elements. 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.720 Not a big shock to see that there's this massive 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:01.200 amount of stuff. And on top of that, the world 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:05.079 of technology is one that encourages us to consume. Right. 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:07.480 Oh sure, well, I mean every everyone wants, or not 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.079 everyone necessarily, but most of us want, you know, the new, big, 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.480 shiny thing, and and we want it to perform to 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:16.640 our specifications. You know, we want to do that that 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.720 stuff that makes it useful, which frequently means getting the 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:21.680 new one as soon as it comes out, because we 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.519 don't we don't want to feel like we're missing out 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:28.040 on something, right. I mean, as an Android user, I 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:31.640 feel this very keenly. You know. I think in some ways, 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:35.400 Apple users have the better end of the deal, in 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.440 the sense that they can generally expect that their products, 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:43.760 specifically things like the iPhone and the iPad, will update 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.480 once a year. iPads a little different. We saw two 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.080 updates come a couple of years ago, in one year, 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.320 in fact, like six months apart from each other, seven 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:55.640 months something like that. But in general, the iPhone tends 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.840 to get one update per year, and so while you 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:03.680 still have that regular are drive to upgrade your devices. 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:08.080 It's not like Android, where a new handset comes out 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:13.560 from different manufacturers on a weekly basis. But either way, 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:17.560 the message that we get from marketing, from companies, even 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:21.120 from our peers is that you are missing out if 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:23.560 you don't have the latest thing. But that means you 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:26.159 have to do something with the old things you have. 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:30.680 They will slowly accumulate in your home or maybe not 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.320 so slowly, depending upon how how big a tech geek 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:36.360 you are. I've got friends who it's like you walk 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.839 into the computer history museum when you when you walk 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:41.400 into their place, and you might have a junk drawer 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:45.200 that's just junk smartphones from the last couple of years. 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:49.799 But what's the responsible way of dealing with these things, 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:53.640 of of offloading these electronics that aren't really you know, 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:56.000 you're not using them, You're using the newest thing, So 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:57.280 what do you do with the old ones? I mean 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:01.160 apart from hand me downs to our friends and relatives, 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:04.039 what do you do beyond that? I personally keep a 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.960 few of them around as important curios of my past. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:11.039 I still have a beeper. Wow, yeah you had. Okay, 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:13.880 there's a dark part of your past. I want to 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.800 explore at some point because I I was, I was 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:20.160 that person who while I cover technology and I love 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:24.040 technology people, I mean I absolutely I am obsessed with it. 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.440 I am also not the earliest of adopters, with a 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:31.200 few exceptions, uh Android, I was an early adopter, but 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.359 cell phones. I held off a long time on cell phones, 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.520 so I was on the end of the like the 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.920 initial rush had already happened. I was in the long tale. 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.160 Maybe at the beginning of the long tail. It wasn't 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.000 It wasn't like it was two thousand five or anything 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:53.960 like that. But anyway, we have this encouraging culture built 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:57.320 around electronics that encourage us to consume to buy new things, 0:05:57.400 --> 0:05:59.080 and then we have to worry about the old things. 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:06.000 And until fairly recently, it hasn't been that public a 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:09.080 concern about what to do with the old stuff. Now 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:12.640 there were there were organizations and people who are thinking 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.640 about this. For a couple of decades, sure, going all 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.360 the way back to the nineteen seventies is really when 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:21.640 people started becoming more concerned about what to do with 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:24.920 with solid wastes in general and um and hazardous wastes 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:28.640 in particular, and uh and and through through the years 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:33.240 since then, various organizing bodies around the world have been, um, 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:36.240 you know, just trying to raise awareness and and create 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:41.240 laws for individual countries to to adopt. And we'll get 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.880 into that a little bit more later on. But um, 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:45.559 but yeah, so I mean, it's it's it's been in people. 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.920 Was when the Basil Convention first put out a series 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:54.080 of agreements that were like, hey, we should be thinking 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.040 about this because this is a problem, right right, And 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:59.440 and you know, the environmental movement, like you said, began 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:01.760 in the seventy nineteen seventy was when the first Earth 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:05.640 Day happened. And but but that was really looking at 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:10.320 traditional waste problems. Electronic waste in nineteen seventy wasn't really 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:13.000 a big thing. You know, you would buy an appliance 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.560 and you would keep that appliance until it was broken 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:17.240 beyond repair and then you would get a new one. 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:20.160 But other than that and you know, you weren't necessarily 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:24.280 upgrading your television that frequently or any of the other 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:26.640 consumer electronics that were popular in the seventies. It wasn't 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:29.480 really until we got to like the portable electronics of 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.440 the mid seventies and then the personal computer era. Also, 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:34.880 I mean, we didn't have circuit boards in every toaster, like, 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.760 we didn't have smart toasters yet, so it was a 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:41.720 little bit less of a specific issue stupid toaster. So 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:47.280 let's look at some statistics about electronics and recycling and 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:51.800 and just tossing stuff away. Uh. This is all information 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:56.400 that I pulled from the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Incorporated. 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.960 They had a presentation that was all about the staff 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:04.320 and the stats here mostly date from twelve, so they're 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:08.000 pretty current. Uh. Keeping in mind, there are other stats 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.520 that we could talk about. The Environmental Protection Agency that 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:13.760 a report back in two thousand nine that said that 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:17.960 only about a quarter of all the electronics ready for 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:22.080 end of life management, meaning they are you are done 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:25.840 with them, you do not want them anymore, only were 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.680 collected for recycling back in two thousand nine, and the 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.280 total weight of electronics ready to be discarded or recycled 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.839 was about two point three seven million tons in two 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:39.840 thousand nine. Now again that was for the United States. 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:45.120 We're talking fifty million tons annually worldwide. So uh, for 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:49.520 the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Incorporated. They have some 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.800 other interesting statistics. They said that the United States exported 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:57.760 forty seven point three million metric tons of scrap material 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:01.520 in two thousand twelve. Now that includes more than just electronics. 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.960 It's not that that's all electronics. Because these numbers start 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:09.160 to conflict with each other. You're thinking, wait, we're producing 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.000 the world's producing fifty million, but the US is exporting 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.680 forty seven point three million, So this this is overall 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.840 all scrap, right, And then they said that the value 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.160 of the scrap materials was estimated at about twenty six 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:26.040 billion dollars, a lot of money. According to the Federal 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:29.160 Trade Commission in two thousand eleven, um, the the U 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:33.480 s export of used electronic products was one point four 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:37.320 five billion. So so that's of of that share, Yeah, 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.199 of the twenty six billion, one point four five being electronics, 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:44.400 being like like above the table, electronics, like when we're 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:46.280 not talking about because there is an issue with people 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:51.720 illegally exporting right right there. We'll get into that too. Uh. 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:55.839 So that that scrap that we're exporting, that the United 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.320 States is exporting. When I say we, I'm talking about 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:00.880 the United States because that's again, once again we say 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:02.840 this all the time. That's where that's where Lauren and 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:06.440 I live. But the you know, obviously e waste is 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.400 a global issue, it's not. In fact, that's it's a 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:13.280 global issue mainly because the United States and countries like it, 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:17.800 because developed countries have been exporting waste to developing countries 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:24.120 and up. Yeah, it's it's a big mess. Although there 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.720 are a lot of people working very hard to clean 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:31.319 that mess up. So a hundred sixty different countries received 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:35.960 this scrap material that we were exporting, and uh, when 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.040 you get down to the actual electronic waste they're about. 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:42.160 The United States process is about four million tons of 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:47.240 electronic waste for recycling each year. That's uh, there're about 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.880 six million tons in the United States that get sent 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.280 out for recycling, but only four million of it are 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:56.520 processed within the United States itself. So the rest of 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:58.640 it has to go somewhere else because we just don't 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.960 have the capacity to process more than that UH currently, 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:08.040 although that could change as companies begin to explore the 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:10.760 potential of recycling in the US. A part of the 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:15.240 issue is also cost effectiveness UM. Until UM possibly today, 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.440 it's been pretty hard for h companies to in the 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.440 US to compete with recycling plants outside of the US, 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:25.560 partially because a lot of recycling plants in developing countries 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:30.679 aren't certified and UM aren't being responsible with their workers 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:34.400 health or their waste management management practices. Essentially, what it 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:37.400 comes down to is economics, right, you get you have 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:41.880 an economic incentive to ship this stuff overseas because there 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:47.840 are processing facilities and collectors who pay their employees very 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:51.000 very very little. Because it's a different country and in 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:53.480 that country the laws are completely different than they are 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:57.440 in the United States and other developed countries, so it's 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:01.280 cheaper to send it out rather then process it at home. 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:05.640 And because you look at business decisions with that dollar 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.200 sign in mind more often than not. Not to say 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.320 that all companies do this, but but it's a general trend, 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:14.800 especially if you're answering to shareholders, and shareholders are interesting 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:17.679 getting a return on their investment. You're looking for the 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.520 cheapest way to do the work possible, and that might 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.240 involve sending stuff off to a company that doesn't pay 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.760 its employees very well and doesn't really care about their 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:30.560 health or safety. UM. And that's like Lauren alluded to, 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.560 that might be changing big time in the United States. 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:38.839 But we'll get to that. So s of all e 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.760 waste collective for recycling comes from commercial businesses in the 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:47.680 United States, only twenty five percent came from residential sources. 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:52.920 And so the Institute actually identified that as an area 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.320 of opportunity to increase collection and recycling programs within the 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:01.840 United States to cater specifically for regular citizens, so that 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:06.440 we would have an outlet that would be easy to access. UH. 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.640 And there are multiple ways of going about that, whether 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:12.160 it's some sort of government funded program or a completely 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:16.320 privatized service. UH. That that was left up in the 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:20.520 air that the program wasn't or the presentation wasn't about that. 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.760 It was just saying, here's some opportunity. Also, eighty two 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:27.760 point eight percent of all collected e waste in the 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:31.800 United States was recycled, reused, or refurbished within the US, 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:36.160 and then seventeen point two percent of the collected e waste. 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:37.920 Keep in mind this is just the stuff that was 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:40.520 collected for recycling. There is a lot of it that's 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:44.280 just going to land. Yeah, but seventeen point two percent 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.280 of that collected E waste by weight was exported to 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.320 other countries. Now, if you look at all the e 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.479 waste collected, twelve point one percent of it was exported 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:57.280 as testing or working products, meaning that these are things 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.720 that were still in working order that could be donated 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:04.600 to other countries so that they yeah, so they could 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:07.360 either be sold in that country or used in some 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.920 sort of school program or whatever. Some of it was 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:14.280 ready for repair or refurbishment, some of it was just 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:17.920 in working order. But that remaining five point one percent 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:22.040 of all of the electronic waste we collected ended up 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:26.520 being exported without us really knowing what the final destination 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:31.240 or purpose was, which is troublesome because, like we said, 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.880 there are some of these companies out there that are 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:37.840 behaving in ways that we would call unethical, you know, 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:41.680 questionable things that where they're not treating uh, the workers 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:45.280 very well, they aren't looking after people's health and safety. 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:47.720 Um and when you're taught, I mean, you know, five 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.480 percent sounds like like a small number until you're thinking 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:54.200 about five of a few million tons, and it's like, oh, yeah, 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:57.000 that's that's a problem. And these are real people and 0:14:57.080 --> 0:14:59.880 real lives, you know. I mean human beings who have 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:04.160 families and they have their own problems, and but one 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.040 of those problems might be that they are dealing with 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:11.040 material that could be very toxic in a dangerous way. 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:15.440 We'll get into that later on as well. So with 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:17.760 that five point one percent, they call it the sliver 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.160 in in the presentation because when you're looking at it, 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:23.400 if you look at it just from a percentage point 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.440 of view, like you said, Lauren, you have this tendency 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.080 to say, oh, it's just five percent. But they point 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.080 out that sliver is incredibly important and you cannot ignore 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:36.600 it because to do so is irresponsible. So and again, 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:38.920 this is just the United States. There are other countries 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:43.840 that also export electronic waste to developing nations. So it's 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.160 it's a problem that goes beyond just the US. It's 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:49.520 just that those are again the figures that are easiest 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:51.760 for us to get because we happen to live here 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.760 right right as as it turns out that the European 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.120 Union is a little bit ahead of the the US 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.880 and the entire game they have. They have passed the 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:04.720 UM European Waste Shipment Regulation, which UM has adopted some 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:10.520 of the statutes put out by multinational organizations for for better, better, 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:16.120 more responsible, responsible treatments of these products. And uh what 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:18.960 what actually happens to this recycling? The stuff that's being 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.200 sent out to be turned into other stuff not just 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:28.000 refurbished or repurposed of it is recycled into specification grade 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:32.360 commodity scrap, which includes things like aluminum or a copper 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:36.240 or scrap steel. Ten of it's resold as functioning equipment 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:39.040 and components for direct resale. So only ten percent of 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:41.120 all the stuff we send out is actually being used 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.440 again in that respect. Uh an eighteen percent of it's 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.640 resold as equipment and components for further repair and refurbishment. 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:51.680 So that may mean that you're not just like like 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.480 the computer you donate might have some stuff that they 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:59.520 they salvage from the computer to use either to sell 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.280 directly or to put into something else, and then other 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:06.280 parts might just join that scrap. So the majority of 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:10.760 it is going as just scrap. It's not not being 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:14.240 reused or refurbished or anything like that, So why would 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:17.080 you want to recycle in the first place. Well, part 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.080 of it is that the idea of donating your electronics, 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:23.480 anything that's in working order, then extends the lifespan of 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:27.600 that device, which makes the device more valuable to people 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:30.840 in general and also can can specifically help people in need. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.480 There's a bunch of different programs, um you know, cellphones 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.119 for soldiers, or a lot of domestic abuse hotline kind 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:40.240 of places will accept cell phones. Forum for for for 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.080 victims to use to get help. The World Computer Exchange 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.280 accepts computers for donation. It's one of the more reputable 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.440 organizations there are. There are quite a few actually that 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:54.639 have incredible reputations. They are known for being responsible and 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:58.440 for accepting donations. It's important that you do research when 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:01.240 you need to recycle or electronics, and we'll talk more 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:03.359 about that in the second half too, but just a 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.760 general note, if you are going to recycle anything, make 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:10.720 sure that what whatever outlets you're looking at our responsible ones. 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:15.240 So one sort of materials are getting recycled when we're 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.600 recycling electronics. It's pretty much the same sort of stuff 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:20.879 you would think of when you're sorting through your recycling. 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.159 You know, if you have like a recycled bin or 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.680 several bins that you have to sort through the same 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:28.200 sort of stuff. In general, it's just they happen to 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:32.080 be combined into products. And it's changing slightly, um as 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:35.000 the phase of electronics change. I mean, if you're recycling 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:38.040 your old CRT monitor, then that's going to be a 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.159 different set of stuff, right, different components and say a 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:45.840 flat screen digital display or plasma TV even because you know, 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:50.520 when I think of recycling electronics, I'm always thinking of smartphones, tablets, 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:54.040 and computers. But really we're talking televisions, we're talking microwaves, 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:57.560 We're talking about anything that's a consumer electronic, right, you know, 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:00.920 not just the the stuff that Jonathan thinks of his 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.280 consumer electronics because he has a very narrow view of 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:06.919 the world. Um So, really we're looking at glass, plastic, 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:11.080 and metals being the chief components that go into this 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:13.920 whole recycling uh. And I thought it might be fun 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:17.560 to talk a little bit about the outcome of that, 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:21.680 like why why do we recycle these things? How efficient is? 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:25.080 It doesn't make sense because there are people who say 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:29.600 that at least some things that we recycle, it doesn't 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.359 make a whole sense to recycle them, and that is 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:34.800 that is partially true. We actually just did a two 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:37.919 part series on recycling for Forward Thinking. Yeah, so if 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:40.639 you guys are aren't listening to Forward Thinking, you should 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:43.400 check that out and watch the video series two. It's 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:46.119 I'm having a blast doing it and Lauren joins me 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:51.639 and also the series writer Joe he's on that audio 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:55.920 podcast too, and the three of us. Yeah, it's yes, 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:58.920 there is an X. That is true. Uh, it's only 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.159 for forward thinking. We do not have the AX for 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:02.920 tech stuff. You don't get to see the AX, but 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:04.920 you get to hear refer to it once in a 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:09.040 rare while. But yeah, so so so so so glass. 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.400 Yeah so glass. This is one of the trickiest ones, 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:15.119 right because glass, If you were to recycle glass, you 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:17.920 end up saving about thirty of the energy you would 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:21.639 need to manufacture glass out of raw materials. So that 0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:25.119 means that you're expending seventy of the energy that you 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:28.000 would require if you were just starting from scratch, right, 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:32.040 So is not a huge amount of savings. And depending 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:35.879 upon how the sorting facility does the sorting for glass, 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:38.800 it can actually require more energy and time to sort 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:43.520 through it starts to make the whole recycling process a 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:47.840 bit questionable for certain communities. Not not the case everywhere. 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:52.080 Some facilities have very sophisticated sorting equipment that make this 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:56.600 go very easily. Others do not. So glass is one 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:00.639 of those things that I recommend. If you can reuse 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:05.040 the stuff, reuse it. Uh. If you cannot reuse it, 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.960 recycle it. The other part about glass that makes it 0:21:09.400 --> 0:21:13.040 kind of uh, you know, it makes it the least 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:16.560 wasteful in a way is that the raw material that 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:20.199 we use to make glass is plentiful since it's mainly sand. 0:21:21.040 --> 0:21:23.280 So it's not like we're running on a shortage of sand. 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:27.680 We haven't hit peak sand yet, right. No, No, I 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:29.280 think that of all of all the elements that we 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:32.639 are concerned about, um and not that sand is an element. 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:40.040 That's right, that's all the elements in the sense of factors. Uh. 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:42.960 And also glass is non toxic, so if it ends 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:44.720 up in a landfill, at least you know it's not 0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:48.040 going to be I mean, assuming it's not lead glass, 0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:51.280 it's not going to be leaching toxins into the environment. 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:53.920 We don't want glass to end up in landfill, so 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:56.200 don't get me wrong there. I would much prefer that 0:21:56.320 --> 0:21:58.719 you reuse it if you can, or recycle it if 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:02.000 you cannot. But keep in mind some recycling facilities end 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:04.439 up sending a lot of glass landfills anyway. I mean 0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:07.560 it just I I keep on hoping for the improvement 0:22:07.600 --> 0:22:10.399 there so that we don't have to worry about that, uh, 0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:12.919 Because mainly what I'm looking at here is an energy 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:16.280 saving model, because if you're saving energy, that means that 0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:19.720 you are also emitting fewer greenhouse gases. This is a huge, 0:22:19.800 --> 0:22:22.359 big picture thing. And also I mean also saving money, 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:26.560 because what it really comes down to for you know, unfortunately, 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:28.359 but this is the way the world works is is 0:22:28.400 --> 0:22:31.840 an economic factor of whether it is worth someone's time. 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:35.200 Right right, then we have plastic, and plastic is actually 0:22:35.320 --> 0:22:37.520 a little more complicated, in fact, a lot more complicated, 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:39.640 because there are a lot of different types of plastic 0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:42.880 and some are easier to recycle than others, like pet 0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:48.159 plastic or polyethylene tariff thallt plastic. Good job, Yeah, it 0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:51.320 only took two tries, you guys. I hope missed the 0:22:51.359 --> 0:22:54.520 first try, unless Noel is feeling vindictive, in which case 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:58.399 he kept it in there Noel is noncommittal anyway. So 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:01.359 pet plastic this is the stuff that you see in 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:06.919 like clear bottles, like plastic bottles, soda bottles, water bottles, 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:09.280 that kind of thing that tends to be pet plastic. 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:12.280 And it's very easy for us to recycle that and 0:23:12.720 --> 0:23:15.960 if we if we do, we save eighty four percent 0:23:16.760 --> 0:23:19.480 of the energy we use in plastic production from raw 0:23:19.600 --> 0:23:24.040 materials and sevent of the greenhouse gas emissions, So eighty 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:29.760