Meeting #16 - December 6, 2006

12:25pm Start (F10)

Members Present

Kevin W., 8^th grade VP

Chloe C., Secretary

Michael Y., Treasurer

Amanda B., 7^th grade President

Hannah K., VP

Max N., Secretary

David L., Treasurer

Tia R., 6^th grade President

Britta K., VP

Sarah M., Secretary

Maryssa S., Treasurer

Mary Sano, Advisor

David Lim left early at 1:20.

GreenCitizen came to give us a presentation about recycling electronics. (http://greencitizen.com/)

1. Electronic waste causes a lot of damage to our environment if not disposed of properly

2. Showed us a video to give us an idea of what's happening today (video titled "Digital Dump")

a. Waste is exported to Asia and Africa, and they pass their toxins to some of the world's poorest places.

b. There, the wastes are burned, melted, and causes a lot of contamination.

c. Some companies claim to help undeveloped places by sending them used electronics, but really, what's being sent usually is unusable or quickly becomes obsolete.

d. In Lagos, Nigeria, there are intelligent but terribly underpaid workers who repair the imported electronics and sell them. However, 75% of the items they get are unfixable and useless.

e. "If the third-world countries are used as dumps for items of toxicity, then we are not helping the world." -- man from Nigeria

f. U.S. and Europe are dumping 500 containers of used electronics a month.

3. The computer screen is glass with lead, copper, and mercury. And when that screen is taken apart by poor Asians and Africans for the valuable copper, they just dump the rest of the lead and mercury into water sources.

a. One-seventieth of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate a twenty-acre lake.

b. The toxins are horrible to every part of your body: your brain, your heart, your lungs, etc. It needs to be properly disposed of or it will slip into the water source and soil.

c. Even though the poor workers know the electronic wastes are toxic, they have to feed their families first. They need to survive, so they pick out the copper.

d. New technology comes out so fast that people want it, so they throw away their old electronics. New products come out so fast.

4. Where do Jordan computers that we recycle go?

5. Schools are under a tight budget and they have the potential to cause a lot of electronic waste. They can give old electronics to someone for free, but the "recycler" may not be doing it the right way.

6. GreenCitizen helps schools recycle through their program, and it only works with a strong Student Council.

a. Gunn High School is one of the most successful schools. They raised awareness of this global problem and even educated parents about this electronic waste. There's a lot of involvement.

b. GreenCitizen donate 10% of the recycle fees back to the school. It's not a lot of money, but it's incredibly educational and helps our environment tremendously.

7. The unnatural stuff that we create can't be taken back a natural form.

a. Right now we can't take an old computer and make a new one. It's technically difficult and expensive.

8. It’s possible to buy the documentary "Digital Dump" from ban.org for $50.

9. http://classifieds.greencitizen.com -- post up working and in good condition electronics that you don't want anymore for poorer families.

10. If enough cities adopt GreenCitizens, the cost of recycling everything can be free. We could take apart the electronics properly and sell the valuable materials (e.g. copper).

11. One day (e.g. Saturday) at Jordan there could be a station in the Jordan parking lot where parents can just drop off their electronics. That would raise awareness, and if you missed the day, you can just go to the GreenCitizen location to recycle.

12. You can also volunteer at the GreenCitizen places to help them out.

1:33pm End