E-waste recycling a hit in Bangor
4/25/09 | 16 comments
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E-waste recycling a hit in Bangor


By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT
Nicole Randall, left, of Phippsburg and Sterling Brown, center, of Bath, both E-Waste Solutions employees, unload computers, televisions and other electronic waste from Bangor area residents in the parking lot of the Bangor Mall on Saturday April 25, 2009. E-waste Solutions of Auburn filled six tractor-trailer trucks full of electronic waste that might have otherwise made its way into a landfill. Buy Photo
The old computer and monitor that Steve Foster brought Saturday to the Bangor Mall parking lot had been sitting on his porch for at least three years. The microwave oven the Orono man dropped off at the e-waste recycling event broke recently.

It took him just a couple of minutes to turn the items over to employees of eWaste Recycling Solutions, an Auburn-based firm that recycles televisions, computers, monitors, printers and other electronic waste.

“I think it’s awesome,” Foster, 47, said of the event as he was leaving. “It’s a good legitimate way to get rid of [e-waste]. Everybody’s got to do their part.”Mike Doran of Woburn, Mass., the owner of the recycling business, said he and his crew of nine employees — all of whom live in Maine, he was quick to point out — held a similar event in December at the mall. The company Saturday collected about three times the volume it did last year. The e-waste filled six large tractor-trailers. Each one held between 25,000 and 30,000 pounds of recyclables.

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The “hot item” dropped off was televisions, most likely because people are replacing old sets with digital ones in anticipation of the June conversion to digital-only signals.

“What you see here today,” Doran said, “would go into landfills in other states.

He credited the “teeth” in Maine’s e-waste recycling law for his company’s success. The law, enacted in 2006, bans manufacturers that refuse to pay for the cost of recycling their products from selling them in Maine.

The law was aimed at keeping the lead in the cathode ray tubes in pre-plasma computer screens and televisions out of the waste stream. Doran said that CRTs are returned to the manufacturers and reused to make new CRTs that are sold outside the United States. The plastic and metal in e-waste items are broken up, then bundled and sold to firms for recycling, he said. “We take just about anything with a cord and circuit board,” Doran said. “We can’t take white goods such as washers, dryers, stoves or refrigerators.”

E-Waste Recycling Solutions has pickups scheduled around the state, according to Doran.

On Friday, employees of Eastern Maine Medical Center were able to drop off their e-waste from home at work. Doran’s company collected the same types of materials it took in Saturday at the mall.

“We realize recycling TVs, computers and computer monitors can get expensive if people drop them off at their local transfer station,” Ray John, EMMC Environmental Health and Safety officer, said in a press release issued Thursday. “This is a free and convenient opportunity to do something good for the environment.”

Making it convenient to recycle, Doran said Saturday, is the key to keeping e-waste out of the waste stream. “If you place the burden on the manufacturer and make recycling convenient, people will do the right thing,” he said.

Doran and his crew plan to return to Bangor in August or September. Information about pickup dates are on the company Web site, www.ewastemaine.com.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

990-8207

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Comments
16 comments on this item
On 4/25/09 at 10:08 PM, caribouresident wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I wish something like this would happen in Aroostook County. Like at the Aroostook Centre Mall. I know that I have a few old computers and tvs that need to go. I am sure that there are many other people from this area that feel the same way.

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On 4/26/09 at 12:08 AM, Amazed wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Caribouresident~ contact city hall in Caribou and give them the information for Ewaste Recycling Solutions I'm sure the company would be happy to make a trip up to that area. Go to the following website for more info:

http://www.ewastemaine.com/2009ers/Shipping_Receiving_Info.html

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On 4/26/09 at 12:14 AM, Amazed wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Just a word of warning to those of you who are dropping off computers: Make certain that you remove the hard drive from the computer and destroy it so that any personal information you have on the hard drive cannot be retrieved and used by someone. (ie: credit card info, names addresses and phone numbers, social security numbers, pin numbers, bank information, etc...

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On 4/26/09 at 4:16 AM, amiablemike wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It didn't say in the story where the e-waste goes ... I would suggest google "e waste" and follow some of the links ... stories about going to India or China ... etc.

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On 4/26/09 at 8:16 AM, pcme2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

When did they advertise that they were going to be in Bangor?

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On 4/26/09 at 12:46 PM, ewasted wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm happy to see that other States are starting to catch up. We've been doing this in California now for almost 15 years. We have always been compliant and recycle locally, meaning we have never shipped outside of the State to other countries like China or India. I get discouraged when seeing all the hype on television and publications regarding materials that some recycling companies export. Lots of companies work hard to do it right so it's refreshing to see some positive media coverage for a change. If anyone would like some feedback or advice about their program, we can be reached from our website at: http://www.elmars.org

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On 4/26/09 at 2:27 PM, tlpick wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I saw postings in the Bangor Daily News earlier in the week and I think I also heard it on the radio in the morning. I still forgot about it though...maybe I'll get there next year!

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On 4/26/09 at 6:03 PM, Kevin_of_Bangor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

pcme2000 there was a article about it posted online last Thrusday.

Amiablemike I would suggest you learn about a company before posting drivel. Ewaste Solutions is a responsible company that does not take part in such deplorable acts.

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On 4/26/09 at 8:00 PM, bud55bud wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

SO YOU GIVE AND THEN THEY SELL AND MAKE MONEY ON WHAT YOU GIVE. WHY SHOULDN'T THEY PAY SOMETHING FOR THEIR INVENTORY

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On 4/27/09 at 3:38 AM, border wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

we should be thankful the company isn`t charging for the items your dropping off.

this is such a great idea to travel to different locals just to make it convienent forr the public

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On 4/27/09 at 6:42 AM, freedomfighter wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I've got a pile of this stuff in my back yard waiting for something like this to come to my area. I may get rid of this stuff after all someday. It's about time.

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On 4/27/09 at 11:19 AM, rblenkhorn wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

they have a website amiablemike and at that website it says eWaste Recycling Solutions, LLC (ERS),was founded in 2008 and is locally owned and operated. ERS provides safe and environmentally sound disassembly, consolidation and transportation services for recycling and disposal of electronic devices such as computer and television monitors as well as many other products categorized as e-waste under local, state and federal law.

To schedule a pickup Contact:

Larry Wing, Operations Manager

Phone: 207-449-1709

Fax: 207-449-1713

Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

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On 4/27/09 at 11:48 AM, Erika2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

rblenkhorn.....thank you for the info ;)

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On 4/27/09 at 12:07 PM, snowhownd wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Cut amiablemike some slack - he didn't accuse this company of sending their e-waste to China - he just pointed out that this is a major problem in the world. Several companies outlined in a 60 minutes (I think - I can't remember exactly what it was) also claimed to be all about recycling and saving the environment and when it was researched it was found they DID send there stuff overseas to go to these dumping grounds. A great example of companies saying they don't do something when in fact they were...

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On 4/28/09 at 12:19 AM, BarbaraM99 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Yep. That is smart. Seattle we can't throw the things like TV, pc, etc in the trash. They passed a law against it. I did see that on 60 min. TV program. i was appalled when I saw it. Hats off to that company making a difference. Just maybe they can be fixed up and reused. If not safely handled in away to not end up in land fills. We have to recylce . Alos reuse.

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On 4/28/09 at 4:06 PM, lovinAZlivin wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

bud55bud- Most places that are willing to take this stuff charge you to take it due to all the work that follows. If you want to tear apart your electronic trash and dispose of each component and/or sell off the parts that are able to be marketed on, then go for it cause that is fantastic! It still disposes properly of the things that won't do anything but harm in the landfills. I know I don't have the time or abilily to do so, so to have a company willing to do this free of charge is simply wonderful!!

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