Happy 2009, Eco Geeks!
Will this be a greener year than the last for our planet?
I hope so.
Please forgive my protracted absence. I was busy last week with a story on Washington state’s new free recycling program called E-Cycle Washington.
You can read all about it here (thanks to CC at the Big B and Samantha Bond for their article comments), but basically it means you’ll never again have to pay for the disposal of your old or broken computers, laptops, monitors and TVs.
You can take them to places such as Goodwill, PC Recycle and county transfer stations for nothing.
Thanks to the new law, which took effect Jan. 1, producer responsibility and product stewardship are in effect, forcing manufacturers such as Sony, Apple and Panasonic to foot the bill, not just for residential computer and TV recycling but also for small businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations and smaller city governments.
It sounds very, very cool to me. I hope the new law, which is expected to cost 212 manufacturers a collective $8 to $10 million a year, will inspire better design, ideally less of the evil better known as planned obsolescence. If computer manufacturers could design technology that isn’t old after two years, we could definitely start saving the earth. I’m sure of it.
E-Cycle Washington is also encouraging reuse and resale options and, as Snohomish County planner Sego Jackson said, “Reuse is always better than recycling.”
That said, I have concerns about where all our so-called e-waste is going to end up.
What do you think about the new law? How will your recycling habits change?
Please discuss in the comments section below or write me here to share your thoughts.
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