Sustainable Electronics Initiative Blog

Promoting the reuse of electronics through greener design and improved waste management
  • Home
  • About

Call for Papers for Electronics & Sustainability: Design for Energy and the Environment

Joy Scrogum | November 5, 2010

The second annual SEI Symposium, Electronics & Sustainability: Design for Energy and the Environment, is scheduled for March 23-24, 2011 on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The call for papers is available online.

The annual symposium brings together members of industry, academia, government, technical assistance providers, representatives of relevant non-profit organizations, and others to discuss the growing problem of e-waste generation and handling, as well as how to create a more sustainable electronics manufacturing system throughout product lifecycles. See the SEI web site for highlights from last year’s symposium.

Questions can be directed to Aida Sefic Williams, Conference Coordinator.

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Cell Phones & Accessories, Certification Programs, Design for Environment (DfE), Education, Electronics Recycling, Events, ISTC, Legislation, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), News/Press Releases, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Remanufacturing, SEI Updates, Supply Chain, Sustainable Product Design, Takeback Programs
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

Where do I recycle my old electronics?

Aida Sefic Williams | June 10, 2010

e_recycleDuring the last few weeks, I have received an increasing number of emails asking where people can recycle their old electronics. If you search for this answer online, you will probably be bombarded with various possibilities to return the electronics to manufacturers, sell your electronics for some extra cash, recycle your old electronics for a charitable cause, or simply bring the electronics to a national retailer. Another option, of course, is to bring your old electronics to a state-run or -approved collection event. Sometimes, going through pages and pages of information is not only time consuming, but it is also overwhelming.

To save you a headache, I took on the task of finding various e-waste collection and recycling methods. You can view various Electronic Take-Back and Donation Programs in a neat, easy-to understand format. This spreadsheet groups various electronic collection and recycling organizations in the following categories: Retailer Recycling Programs, Manufacturer Take-Back Programs, Electronics Trade-In Programs, Electronic Donation/Charity Programs, and State Collection Programs.

Rather than only providing you with links, the spreadsheet also tells you if you can simply drop off your equipment at a location, or if the electronics can be simply mailed to a facility. In addition, you can also find out simply which electronics are accepted by the various organizations. More importantly, I have also included links to various data-erasure methods. A common concern many consumers have is the security of their data before they turn in their old electronics.

In order to erase personal information from cell phones, feel free to visit the following websites:

  • Personal Information Removal Manuals, The Wireless Source
  • Free Data Eraser, ReCellular

To remove personal information from computers, the following services are available:

  • Active@Kill Disk – Hard Drive Eraser
  • Actronis® Drive Cleanser
  • Blancco Data CleanerClean Your Old Hard Drives, TechSoup
  • Do the “PC” Thing: Donate Computers; pg. 2, USEPA
  • Eraser
  • Obliterate Hard-Drive Data with Disk-Wiping Software, TechSoup

The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) does not endorse any specific data-erasing programs. The stated programs were listed for general consumer data and do not signify endorsement.

Did we leave anyone off? If we missed any electronic take-back organizations or charities, please let us know at sei@istc.illinois.edu.

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Cell Phones & Accessories, Consumer Information, Electronics Recycling, Hazardous Waste, Information Tools, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Remanufacturing, Takeback Programs, Televisions
Tags
Advanced Recycling Fee, E-Waste, Education, Electronic Waste, Electronics, Event, green, Information Tools, manufactures, Producer Responsibility, Recyclers, Recycling, SEI, Sustainability, turn-in, USEPA
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

SEI Symposium

amy cade | March 11, 2010

Symposium PictureThe 2010 Electronics and Sustainability: Design for Energy and the Environment Symposium held two weeks ago was a great success! Over 20 impressive speakers in the fields of academia, manufacturing, retail, government, and recycling presented their take on electronics and sustainability. We had an impressive turnout, lively conversation, and overall, a great time had by all.

Here are some highlights from the event: Read the rest of this entry »

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Cell Phones & Accessories, Certification Programs, Consumer Information, Design for Environment (DfE), Education, Electronics Recycling, Hazardous Waste, ISTC, Information Tools, Legislation, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), News/Press Releases, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Remanufacturing, SEI Updates, Sustainable Product Design, Takeback Programs, USEPA, Uncategorized
Tags
Electronics and Sustainability: Design for Energy and the Environment, SEI, Sustainable Electronics Initiative, Symposium
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

Designing Wastefulness

amy cade | February 3, 2010

In one of my classes at the University of Illinois, each student was assigned to study a modern product in depth and then give a presentation on it a couple weeks later. The overall theme for the presentations was, “Newer is Better!” Whether it was a presentation about LED lights, Blue Ray lasers, Teflon, or electronics, the message was clear, this new technology far exceeds the old so it’s out with the old, in with the new.

I agree that most of these products exceed their earlier generation versions. They usually offer more features, perform better, and they even often use less energy. I am all for better designs, in fact, that is what my 4 years of undergrad in Industrial Design was all about.

I am, however, fearful that these designs encourage wastefulness. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Consumer Information, Design for Environment (DfE), Education, Electronics Recycling, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Remanufacturing, Sustainable Product Design, Uncategorized
Tags
Design, E-Waste, Electronics, Modern, New, Recycle, Trash, Waste
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

Electronics and Sustainability: Design for Energy and the Environment

Aida Sefic Williams | January 25, 2010

greenearthThe Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), part of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), is hosting their first electronics and sustainability symposium. The event will be he held on February 23 and 24, 2010 at the I-Hotel and Conference Center.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Consumer Information, Design for Environment (DfE), Education, Electronics Recycling, Hazardous Waste, ISTC, Information Tools, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Policy, Pollution Prevention, Remanufacturing, SEI Updates, Sustainable Product Design, Televisions, USEPA, University Programs
Tags
Collection, Computer, Dell, Design for Energy and Environment, E-Waste, Education, Electronic, Electronic Waste, Electronics, Engineering, Environmentalists, Event, Future, green, Green design, Industrial Design, Information, INRS, ISTC, manufactures, Material science, Mike Tibbs, Motorola, Producer Responsibility, Rajib Adhikary, Recyclers, Recycling, SEI, Sustainability, Symposium, USEPA, walmart, Waste, William Bullock, William Olson, WilliE Cade
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

A satirical and very true view of the e-waste problem

Aida Sefic Williams | December 4, 2009

Electronics PurchasingThe Onion is a very popular, purely fictional and extremely satirical website. The Onion usually consists of stories whose point is only to amuse, with stories such as “Most College Males Admit to Regularly Getting Stoked”. As topics become more interesting to media outlets, The Onion is usually there to make fun of those same topics with their dead-pan sarcasm. While amusing, most of their articles have never struck a particular chord with me until their article titled “New Device Desirable, Old Device Undesirable”. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments
5 Comments »
Categories
Cell Phones & Accessories, Electronics Recycling, Pollution Prevention, Remanufacturing, Takeback Programs
Tags
Collection, CPRR, E-Waste, Education, Electronic, Electronic Waste, Electronics, Producer Responsibility, Recyclers, Recycling, Sustainability
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

Watch Willie Cade's lecture: "The Truth, Tragedy, and Transformation of E-Waste"

Aida Sefic Williams | November 19, 2009

On November 11th, 2009, at the I-Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign, IL, Willie Cade gave a lecture titled, “The Truth, Tragedy, and Transformation of E-Waste”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Certification Programs, Design for Environment (DfE), Electronics Recycling, Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC), Hazardous Waste, ISTC, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Remanufacturing, Takeback Programs, Trade
Tags
CPRR, E-Waste, Electronic, Electronic Waste, Electronics, Green design, INRS, ISTC, Recyclers, Recycling, SEI, Sustainability, WilliE Cade
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

SEI Provides "Ask an Expert" Service

Joy Scrogum | September 19, 2009

The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), is pleased to announce the availability of its online “Ask an Expert” service for the submission of questions related to electronics and their environmental impacts.

Questions related to electronic waste, or “e-waste” issues, sustainable electronics design, improving electronics manufacturing processes and related topics can be submitted via an online form available at http://www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu/services/askexpert.cfm. SEI staff members will provide one hour of free Internet and/or literature searching related to your sustainable electronics question. Also provided is input from ISTC staff scientists and/or referrals to external contacts for further information on technical questions. Responses can be expected within a week (usually within 1-2 business days). Citizens, organizations, government agencies, businesses, non-profit groups, and academic institutions are all invited to use this free service.

The responses obtained from the Ask an Expert service are meant for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as endorsements by SEI, ISTC or any affiliated organization. Responses are also meant to be starting points for inquirers rather than definitive answers, advice or prescriptions for action. Inquirers must draw their own conclusions based upon the information provided.

In the near future, questions and answers received via this service will be archived and searchable on the SEI web site, www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu. An extensive collection of resources is also under development for the web site, and archived Ask an Expert questions and answers will be integrated into relevant resource collections.

According to the U.S. EPA, Americans own nearly three billion electronic products and continually purchase new ones to replace those deemed “obsolete,” even though about two-thirds of the devices are still in working order. As designers, manufacturers and the general public are becoming more aware and concerned about this issue, SEI’s Ask an Expert service will be one way to address concerns and assist in more sustainable practices.

SEI is a consortium dedicated to the development and implementation of a more sustainable system for designing, producing, remanufacturing, and recycling electronic devices. Members of the consortium include academia, non-profit organizations, government agencies, manufacturers, designers, refurbishers, and recyclers. Specific elements of the SEI include programs for research, education, data management, and technical assistance. SEI conducts collaborative research; facilitates networking and information exchange among participants; promotes technology diffusion via demonstration projects; and provides forums for the discussion of policy and legislation.

For more information on SEI, visit www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu or contact Dr. Tim Lindsey, Associate Director of ISTC, at 217-333-8955 . For more information on the Ask an Expert service contact Laura Barnes, ISTC librarian at 217-333-8957.

ISTC is a unit of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Basel Action Network (BAN), Basel Convention, Cell Phones & Accessories, Certification Programs, Consumer Information, Design for Environment (DfE), Education, Electronics Recycling, Hazardous Waste, ISTC, Information Tools, Legislation, News/Press Releases, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Remanufacturing, SEI Updates, Sustainable Product Design, Takeback Programs, Televisions, Trade, University Programs
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

Call For Papers–Electronics & Sustainability: Design for Energy & the Environment

Joy Scrogum | August 12, 2009

The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), a unit of the Institute of Natural Resources Sustainability on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a consortium dedicated to the development and implementation of a more sustainable system for designing, producing, remanufacturing, and recycling electronic devices. Members of the consortium include academia, non-profit organizations, government agencies, manufacturers, designers, refurbishers, and recyclers. Specific elements of the SEI include programs for research, education, data management, and technical assistance. SEI conducts collaborative research; facilitates networking and information exchange among participants; promotes technology diffusion via demonstration projects; and provides forums for the discussion of policy and legislation.

Americans own nearly three billion electronic products and continually purchase new ones to replace those deemed “obsolete,” even though about two-thirds of the devices are still in working order. To address this burgeoning e-waste problem, SEI will hold the Electronics & Sustainability: Design for Energy & the Environment symposium on February 23 – 24, 2010 at the I Hotel on the University of Illinois campus. Topics to be addressed will include environmental toxicology, life cycle analysis, product design, existing and proposed policy (local, state, national, and international), and more. Designers; electrical engineers; chemists; materials scientists; electronics manufacturers, recyclers, refurbishers, and remanufacturers; government representatives and policy makers; pollution prevention technical assistance providers; relevant non-profit organizations; and others are invited to take part in this symposium.

SEI invites industry and academic practitioners to submit abstracts of their recent research, projects, and design thinking for presentation, publications, or both. Proposals can be made for symposium participation in one or more of the following categories: a paper, presentation, panel discussion, or poster display.

For more information about the symposium and/or to access the call for papers, visit: www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu or contact Wayne Duke, Conference Coordinator, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, One Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820-7465, 217-333-5793, fax: 217-333-8944.

For more information about the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), contact Dr. Tim Lindsey, Associate Director, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, One Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820-7465, 217-333-8955, fax: 217-333-8944.

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Design for Environment (DfE), Electronics Recycling, Hazardous Waste, ISTC, Legislation, News/Press Releases, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Remanufacturing, SEI Updates, Sustainable Product Design
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground

amy cade | June 24, 2009
  • Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground

    The video aired 6-23-09 on PBS Frontline/World.

  • On the outskirts of Ghana’s biggest city sits a smoldering wasteland, a slum carved into the banks of the Korle Lagoon, one of the most polluted bodies of water on earth. The locals call it Sodom and Gomorrah.

  • tags: Ghana, E-Waste, electronics, electronic, waste, computers, digital, dumping, ground, PBS, Frontline

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Comments
No Comments »
Categories
Basel Action Network (BAN), Consumer Information, Electronics Recycling, Hazardous Waste, Information Tools, News/Press Releases, Pollution Prevention, Remanufacturing, Sustainable Product Design, Takeback Programs
Comments rss Comments rss
Trackback Trackback

« Previous Entries

Search

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Categories

  • Basel Action Network (BAN)
  • Basel Convention
  • Cell Phones & Accessories
  • Certification Programs
  • Consumer Information
  • Design Competitions
  • Design for Environment (DfE)
  • Education
  • Electronics Recycling
  • Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC)
  • Events
  • GLRPPR
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Information Tools
  • ISTC
  • Legislation
  • Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
  • News/Press Releases
  • Policy
  • Pollution Prevention
  • Product Stewardship
  • Remanufacturing
  • Reuse
  • SEI Updates
  • Supply Chain
  • Sustainable Product Design
  • Takeback Programs
  • Televisions
  • Trade
  • Uncategorized
  • University Programs
  • USEPA

Archives

  • January 2012
  • June 2011
  • April 2011
  • January 2011
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009

Blogroll

  • Environmental News Bits
  • Greener Gadgets Blog
  • The GLRPPR Blog
  • The Voice of Nature (SVTC Blog)

Links of Interest

  • Basel Action Network (BAN)
  • e-Stewards Initiative
  • Electronics TakeBack Coalition
  • ENERGY STAR
  • EPA Plug-In to eCycling
  • EPEAT
  • Green Electronics Council
  • Greener Gadgets
  • ISRI
  • MWPSC
  • myGreenElectronics
  • NCER
  • Product Stewardship Institute (PSI)
  • stEP

Related ISTC Projects

  • ADOP2T
  • Environmental News Bits: E-Waste
  • Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR)
  • Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC)
  • Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx)

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org
rss Comments rss valid xhtml 1.1 design by jide powered by Wordpress get firefox