VICTORY: Doing the right thing with e-waste

This post is one in a month-long series speaking to 15 of PennFuture's significant victories. It was 15 years ago this September that we began our work to protect the environment and champion a clean energy economy.

In 2010, PennFuture worked closely with Representative Chris Ross, R-Chester, and Sen. Ted Erickson, R-Delaware, to pass legislation creating a statewide electronic waste recycling program. The program includes computer equipment and televisions.

Some background: In late 2009, PennFuture's staff was approached by the founders of eLoop, an electronics recycling start-up in Allegheny County. They brought to our attention the problem of the disposal of electronic waste, or e-waste, and the need for a market-based solution.

E-waste comprises about two percent of the overall municipal waste stream but about 70 percent of toxic materials including lead, mercury and cadmium disposed in landfills. In states without a requirement to recycle e-waste, much of the equipment was either being thrown out with the trash or shipped overseas for processing in facilities lacking proper labor or environmental safeguards.

As we discussed the e-waste problem with industry, Rep. Chris Ross was also diving into the issue and working on model legislation with colleagues from other states on the Council of State Governments. Over the course of 2010, PennFuture strongly supported, and worked closely with, Rep. Ross to pass his House Bill 708. Rep. Ross masterfully threaded the needle on a complex issue, building the broad support of industry, legislators, manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, environmentalists and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Sen. Erickson sponsored companion legislation in the Senate and worked hard to educate his colleagues. Erickson's efforts were critical to quick passage in the Senate as the House did not approve HB 708 until near the very end of the 2009-2010 legislative session.

The law requires manufacturers of televisions and computer equipment sold in Pennsylvania to establish programs to collect, transport and recycle their devices. DEP must approve the manufacturers' programs. It is also now illegal to dispose of this equipment in landfills.

Not only is this equipment being properly recycled, new jobs and opportunities are being created as a result of this environmental victory.

Time to get creative on waste in Philly's biz districts

It was big news in Philadelphia last week: shocked onlookers captured camera phone footage of rats running rampant at a popular Midtown Village café and uploaded it onto social networking sites. The restaurant experienced a public relations nightmare as the story quickly went viral. The café closed to fix a broken pipe that led to the infestation, but the damage had been done. Beyond the viral video, the story presents us with a larger issue: how we deal with waste – especially food waste – in large, old, dense urban spaces.

Center City’s booming Midtown Village neighborhood is Exhibit A. Over the past ten years, it has seen a dramatic revival – new restaurants, bars, cafes and art galleries. But with more businesses comes more waste – and more dumpsters, odor, and rats. On some Center City blocks, up to 22 dumpsters line the sidewalk, making for an unpleasant assault on the senses. Not exactly the experience the city envisions for convention-goers.

One Midtown Village stalwart is trying to radically re-think waste collection and storage. McGillin's, the nation’s oldest Irish pub, is looking to create a “zero waste zone.” The now-vacant parking lot adjacent to McGillin’s would become “Drury Street Garden,” a centralized waste storage facility serving up to two dozen Midtown Village businesses. It would have two compactors — one for trash, one for recycling — and a large, sealed Biobin for composting kitchen waste.

Of course, the upfront costs of the “zero waste zone” are significant. While McGillin's expects the savings to pay for themselves over the course of two years, raising the money will still be a challenge. However, the status quo is unacceptable and not without its costs, according to Chris Mullins, owner of the pub, who recently spent $1,200 on an exterminator to treat his entire block.

After last week’s unfortunate PR nightmare involving another restaurateur, we have all the evidence we need that our antiquated waste collection strategy isn't working and is costing us money. Simply put, it's not sustainable. Time to get creative.