Sustainable Electronics Initiative Blog

The International E-Waste Design Competition has changed its name, categories, & judging criteria. The competition, now known as the International Sustainable Electronics Competition, is part of the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). It originated in 2009, when it emerged from a class on e-waste issues taught by industrial design Professor William Bullock, an affiliated faculty scientist at ISTC. The competition was focused entirely on reuse of electronic scrap during that first year. What began as a local UIUC event became an international competition in 2010, with submissions being made online by college students and recent graduates from around the world. The competition has evolved a bit each year, and grew to incorporate the entire life cycle of electronics, rather than focusing solely on reuse. Organizers noticed that recent entries seemed to incorporate both prevention of e-waste generation (through design modifications to extend the useful product life cycle of electronic devices) and reuse of electronic scrap, regardless of whether or not they were submitted for the “Prevention” or “Reuse” category. So for 2013, categories have been changed to “Product” and “Non-Product,” with the concepts of prevention and reuse integrated throughout the revised judging criteria. The new name and judging criteria are part of the continuing effort to better focus the competition on ideas for a sustainable system for the design, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life management for electronics. The competition has always been open to students in any discipline, but most entries were from engineering or industrial design students. The new categories will make the multidisciplinary nature of the competition more apparent, as “non-product” entries could more obviously be made by students from other fields.

To learn more about the competition and new categories, visit www.ewaste.illinois.edu. Entries include, among other elements, a brief project description paper and YouTube video summarizing the concept. Expert jurors award cash prizes to the top three projects in each category. Registration is free and will open on September 1, 2013. For more information, contact Joy Scrogum at jscrogum@illinois.edu or 217-333-8948.

As more and more legislation passes related to landfill bans on electronics and electronics recycling and collection, one can certainly imagine an increase in crimes related to that legislation.

Recently, British Columbia officials charged electronics recycling company, Electronics Recycling Canada, for illegal exports of cathode ray tube monitors to China.

In the U.S., the State of Colorado has already prosecuted Executive Recycling for allegedly exporting cathode ray tubes to foreign countries, including China.

The State of California  received a plea agreement from the Tung Tai Group Inc. for 13 felony charges including forgery, false documents, filing false payment claims with the State, and illegal storage of hazardous electronic and residual waste. They collected over $1 million dollars from the State and their return punishment was to withdraw as certified recyclers and collectors, stop all recycling activities, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay $125,000.

According to Andrea Warren of Alston & Bird LLP,  “over 70 U.S. companies called the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling has pushed for legislation with stricter controls for e-waste exports, calling for e-waste recycling with better security protections and sustainability practices.”

Federal legislation known as The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, HR2284 and companion bill S1270 were introduced and died with the 112th Congress. Will these bills be revived and passed in the 113th Congress? Only time and action will tell.

Find out how the State Electronics Challenge can help your organization meet its sustainability and stewardship goals.  The Challenge offers a simple, straightforward approach to greening your organization’s office equipment. The State Electronics Challenge helps public agencies, schools, colleges and universities implement sustainability and stewardship in their operations. The Challenge helps organizations that join the program—known as Partners—to buy green office equipment, use it efficiently and recycle it responsibly.  Partners get access to implementation tools, support and technical assistance, and receive an annual sustainability report that documents the impacts of the program on specific sustainability indicators.

To learn more about the State Electronics Challenge, register for an introductory webinar: March 14, 3 p.m. Eastern./2 p.m Central/Noon Pacific.

To register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3635301347725787392

SEI’s Professor William Bullock and Joy Scrogum will guest edit a special issue of the journal Challenges, entitled “Electronic Waste–Impact, Policy and Green Design.”  From the issue’s rationale:

“Electronics are at the heart of an economic system that has brought many out of poverty and enhanced quality of life. In Western society in particular, our livelihoods, health, safety, and well being are positively impacted by electronics. However, there is growing evidence that our disposal of electronics is causing irreparable damage to the planet and to human health, as well as fueling social conflict and violence.

While global demand for these modern gadgets is increasing, policy to handle the increased volumes of electronic waste has not kept pace. International policy governing safe transfer, disposal, reclamation, and reuse of electronic waste is nonexistent or woefully lacking. Where laws do exist about exporting and importing hazardous waste, they are routinely circumvented and enforcement is spotty at best. While European Union countries lead the way in responsible recycling of electronic and electrical devices under various EU directives, most industrialized nations do not have such policies. In the U.S., for example, most electronic waste is still discarded in landfills or ground up for scrap.

It is imperative that we consider how green design practices can address the growing electronic waste problem. This special issue is meant to do just that and spur discussions on how electronic products can become greener and more sustainable.”

If you are interested in submitting a paper for this special issue, please send a title and short abstract (about 100 words) to the Challenges Editorial Office at challenges@mdpi.com, indicating the special issue for which it is to be considered. If the proposal is considered appropriate for the issue, you will be asked to submit a full paper. Complete instructions for authors and an online submission form for the completed manuscripts are available on the Challenges web site at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/challenges/special_issues/electronic-waste. The deadline for manuscript submissions is June 1, 2013.

Join us for a webinar on Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT. This seminar will be hosted at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign, IL, and simultaneously broadcast online. The presentation will be archived on the ISTC web site (see http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/sustainability_seminars.cfm for more information and additional webinar archives).

Marta Keane, Recycling Program Specialist & Green Business Relations Coordinator for the Will County (IL) Land Use Department Resource Recovery & Energy Division, will present “Electronics Recycling in Will County 2012.” Register online for this webinar at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/792822047.

Abstract: Effective January 1, 2012, Illinois banned disposal of electronics in landfills. This presentation will describe Will County’s collection efforts before the mandatory ban, the county’s Front Door Electronic Service Program (a 3-year pilot program started April 2011), and steps taken to prepare for the ban. Results of these efforts thus far will be discussed as well as some remaining issues yet to be resolved. Examples of additional sustainability programs being conducted by Will County will also be described, including: efforts that resulted in receiving the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award in 2012; household hazardous waste service; tire collection events; book reuse & recycling events; shoe collection/textile collection; medication collection; green building improvements; and the Landfill Gas-to-Energy project.

SEI, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR), and ISTC are hosting a series of seminars this fall focused on sustainable electronics research and issues. Watch the SEI calendar for upcoming seminar dates. You may contact Nancy Holm, SEI Research Coordinator, to be added to the mailing list to receive email notifications of upcoming seminars.

November 15 is America Recycles Day. Celebrated since 1997, this event is about educating the public about how and what to recycle, while encouraging people to do so as part of their daily routine.  When most people take part in America Recycles Day events, they focus on the typical items you might place in the nearest blue bin or on the curb for weekly collection–paper, plastics, aluminum cans, etc. However, if you’re reading this blog, you already know that it’s just as important to consider recycling or reusing electronics when they are no longer of use to you. To learn more about America Recycles Day and resources available on the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) web site regarding how to recycle or donate your electronics, as well as legislation related to electronics disposal and recycling, see my previous blog post on America Recycles Day.

If you are a recycling coordinator in the state of Illinois, America Recycles Day is the perfect time to check out the Illinois EPA’s new grant program offering up to $2000 to recycling coordinators in each county in Illinois. The grants are for the purpose of educating the public about the state landfill ban, and providing information on opportunities available for electronics recycling. To apply for a grant, visit http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/electronic-waste-recycling/index.html and click on the “Grants” tab. The application deadline is February 1, 2013, and recipients must expend the $2000 before December 31 in the program year in which the grant is received. For more information or questions related to the application process, contact Michelle Bentley at 217-524-6713.

The latest entry in the GreenBiz.com series on conflict minerals has been published, entitled “Industry, government team up for conflict-free mineral markets.” The series is being written by Patricia Jurewicz, the Director for the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN). RSN is a project of As You Sow, a nongovernmental organization that  “promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.” In this latest installment, Jurewicz highlights industry efforts to trace and maintain conflict-free supply chains, while also contributing positively to Congolese communities.

The series began in late August, 2012, and is a response to the recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vote to adopt Section 1502, a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That rule requires manufacturers to trace their supply chains and disclose whether or not the tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold used in their products come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country. For more information on this rule and links to the previous installments in the GreenBiz series, see my previous post on the series.

Join us for a webinar on Monday, November 5, 2012, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT. This seminar will be hosted at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign, IL, and simultaneously broadcast online. The presentation will be archived on the ISTC web site (see http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/sustainability_seminars.cfm for more information and additional webinar archives).

Dr. Carol Handwerker, Reinhardt Schuhmann Jr. Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, will present “Sustainable Electronics: Lessons Learned from the RoHS and the Pb-free Transition.” Register online  for this webinar at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/712035655.

Abstract: With the impending ban on Pb in electronics in 2006, the consumer electronics industry world-wide began working together in the late ’90′s to define a standard Pb-free solder alloy for electronics manufacturing. The speed of the transition and the level of cooperation demonstrated in preparing industry to manufacture products with Pb-free solder provide benchmarks for sustainability-driven technology transitions in a rapidly changing global industry.  What does this tell us about future changes in materials and processes as we learn more about the consequences of our electronics use?

SEI, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR), and ISTC are hosting a series of seminars this fall focused on sustainable electronics research and issues. Watch the SEI calendar for upcoming seminar dates. You may contact Nancy Holm, SEI Research Coordinator, to be added to the mailing list to receive email notifications of upcoming seminars.

The popular online source for sustainable news and resources related to business, GreenBiz.com, is featuring a four-part series of articles on compliance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule Section 1502. The SEC recently voted to adopt Section 1502, a controversial rule which is a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The rule requires manufacturers to trace their supply chains and disclose whether or not the tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold used in their products come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country. These minerals are referred to as “conflict minerals” because militant groups within DRC use violence (rape and other gender based violence, as well as murder and other atrocities) to control miners within that country, which include women and children. The purchase of conflict minerals from DRC funds a war between the government and rebel militias over control of the country’s mines. Controlling those mines means power because those minerals are used within virtually all electronic products that we use in today’s world. What makes the rule controversial is what some groups have called a “loophole” that allows companies to declare the source of these minerals as indeterminable; flexibility is also allowed on scrap and recycled minerals. For more information on the recent SEC vote and the controversy, see the GreenBiz article “SEC’s conflict minerals vote comes under fire.” For more information on conflict minerals in general, see the previous SEI blog post entitled “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” as well as the Raise Hope for Congo web site. Read the text of the final rule (Section 1502) here.

The first article in the GreenBiz series was published on 8/30/12 and is entitled “Full disclosure: How SEC’s conflict mineral rule could affect you.”  It was written by Patricia Jurewicz, the Director for the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN). RSN is a project of As You Sow, a nongovernmental organization that  “promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.” This article discusses what companies will have to report on and how, discusses room for interpretation of the SEC rules, and provides a list of products (not just electronics) that contain conflict minerals.

The latest article in the series, also by Patricia Jurewicz, is entitled “Tackling tungsten, tin: Choosing tools for conflict mineral reports.” This article discusses systems and tools used to facilitate the reporting process in compliance with Section 1502. Included at the end of the article are links to possible software solutions that manufacturers may wish to explore to help track their supply chain.

Watch GreenBiz.com for subsequent articles, and keep an eye out for future SEI blog posts related to conflict minerals and supply chain management.

There have been several updates to the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) website:

• WEEE 2: The European Commission has updated the WEEE Directive. See the European section of the International Law & Policy page for a link to more information on the revised directive.
• Recycling in Manitoba: Manitoba’s government run recycling program switched to a privately run program earlier this month. We’ve added a section on Manitoba in the Canada section of the International Law & Policy page and a link to an article about the program.
• International E-Waste Design Competition: We have added links to the Resources section of the competition web site, including “Books” and “Background & Promotional Materials.”  We have also updated the Jury page, where you can find bios and pictures of this year’s jurors.