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Filing E-Waste County Inmates Paying Rent Organizing on the Buses Hemp Food Ban Hits Here
Filing E-Waste At least 300 million personal computers will need to be disposed of or recycled by 2005, according to a recent National Safety Council study. And the number rises annually as the lifetime of a computer decreases and the need to upgrade to a faster machine heightens in popularity. "Even in Milwaukee and Madison, every machine that might need to be safely disposed of is not getting collected," says David Wood, program director of the GrassRoots Recycling Network. Nationally, about 10% of all obsolete computers are being properly recycled, he says, and the rest go to landfills or are warehoused in people's homes. Dumping this e-waste into a garbage can with banana peels and coffee grounds may seem like the easiest thing to do. But environmentalists and health professionals warn that it's the most harmful of household trash. High amounts of hazardous materials like lead, cadmium and mercury-lurking in electronics products and released when improperly dismantled-can irritate local air and water quality. A computer monitor or television's cathode ray tube contains up to 27% lead. They also contain such high levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and some types of flame-retardants that under federal law they are considered hazardous. "When we talk about these heavy metals (lead and mercury) it's clear a majority are not biodegradable," says Paul Biedrzycki, manager of disease control and prevention for the city of Milwaukee Health Department. There are subtle links to reproductive health effects, central and peripheral nervous-system effects, kidney disease and immune suppression. "This isn't a one-time, large dose exposure issue. It's chronic, low-level, long-term exposure," Biedrzycki says. "You could have these materials transported in the environment in ways that eventually come back to us." According to Wood, lead exposure from CRTs can have neurological effects, especially on children. Mercury is dangerous, too. "When mercury is disposed of in a landfill and combined with methane, it forms methyl mercury which is a form of nerve gas," he says. Brominated flame-retardants-which have chemical similarities to dioxins, or chlorine compounds-are used on the plastics used to manufacture computers. "If you were to incinerate plastic from a computer, several things can happen. When that burns, it releases dioxins and BFRs in the atmosphere," says Wood. PVCs poly (vinyl chloride) if burned is a hazardous compound, releasing dioxins into the air. They're showing up in Lake Michigan salmon, according to William Sonzogni, a University of Wisconsin-Madison water scientist. The good news is that if a computer is visible on the curb, garbage collection crews can't legally haul it to the dump. "Most of the garbage hauling companies will not pick up the material off the curbside," says Kevin Shaver, general manager of Superior Services' Port Washington recycling facility. "They'll put a sticker on it which basically says we will not accept it" and directs the household to a local facility. A 1991 State Recycling Bill authored by state Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) requires that electronic appliances not go to the landfill or be incinerated. By 1993 yard waste was included in the bill, and after 1995 cardboard, aluminum and paper were banned. Computers, however, have avoided being singled out for regulation. "The state Department of Natural Resources has said that computer monitors, because of the amount of lead, are hazardous waste and are prohibited from landfills," says Wood. But, "the first step is to really have a complete and broadly applicable landfill ban, a real regulation and law in the state of Wisconsin that keeps these materials, wherever they may come, out of their landfills." California and Massachusetts are the only states that have banned computer monitors from state landfills, he says. Black says that situation will change. "I believe we should look at expanding our recycling of our computers and electronic equipment."
Because Milwaukee businesses hire their own waste haulers, they have other landfill options, including Emerald Park in Muskego, where most non-Milwaukee residential garbage is deposited, according to Lynn Morgan, a spokesperson for Waste Management, which operates landfills in Franklin and Menomonee Falls. They handle mostly household waste. "Landfills are designed to accommodate what you would find in a typical computer. Landfills are currently required to be lined," Morgan says. When rain, snow or water comes in contact with the waste, she says, it's trapped in the landfill and thanks to a lining, doesn't escape into the groundwater or air. Superior Services, however, has a pure recycling facility in Port Washington, which collects florescent light bulbs, batteries and computers for the central U.S. states. The household or business pays between $20 and $35 to recycle a monitor; per-pound costs are between $.25 and $.35. Precious metals like copper as well as metal are pulled and recycled and then sent to reclaimers in West Chicago, Ill., the Twin Cities or Glenfora, Wis. (near Eau Claire). The final step is the recyclers, who properly handle their disposal. Most of the recyclers contracted with Superior are in the U.S., says Shaver. Nonetheless, Charlene Lemoine, of the Waukesha County Environmental League, doesn't trust that landfill employees are keeping their eyes open for computer and electronics products. "Nobody's sorting through this stuff at the landfills and pulling it (recycled materials) out. That's a fact," Lemoine says. "When they're dumping this stuff, it's truck after truck, dump it and go." "Computers do show up in the waste stream," admits Morgan. "That's because people don't have all of the options that they'd like to have."
The state Department of Natural Resources has established a Council on Recycling to advise the legislature on recycling practices. And many options already exist. A reusable computer part can be refurbished and either resold or donated to charity. Non-reusable parts are torn down, separated and sold in bulk to a refiner that specializes in base material recapture. Electronic boards are the most valuable materials of an old computer. If found during teardown, they are sent to precious-metal refiners. The best recycling action, however, is to bring the computer to a local drop-off center. At the city of Milwaukee dump sites, special areas for computers have been set up. Badger State Industries, run by the state Department of Corrections, started a computer-recycling program five years ago. Steve Kronzer, director, estimates that BSI keeps 25 tons of trash out of the landfill each year. Computers can be brought, at no cost, to any of the 26 drop-off centers in Wisconsin. Locally, there are centers in Brookfield, Delafield, Milwaukee, Waukesha, West Allis and Wauwatosa. If more than 10 computers will be dropped off, it's best to call BSI for a free pickup (608-246-1914). Prisoners in three locations-50 at Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility, 16 at Taycheedah Correctional Facility for women in Fond du Lac and 25 at Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls-dismantle and then rebuild the computers. They end up donated or sold to educational programs, the disabled or the elderly, for between $150 and $250. Cascade Asset Management-a Madison-based refurbishing and recycling business that focuses on computers-collects, refurbishes, and distributes computers to a handful of Wisconsin's non-profit agencies. With the computer monitors, the tubes (which contain two to five pounds of lead) are taken out, the glass is crushed and they are shipped away for cleaning. Households are charged $5 per computer monitor. Businesses must pay $15 to $20. About 50% of the collected computers are not reusable, cautions Neil Peters-Michaud, a Cascade owner. Another recycling option is to hop on the web and visit a searchable database for computer donations and requests. The elderly, disabled and poor want desperately to send e-mails or brush up on Microsoft Office. Even the outdated 486 PC system can do the job. A recent search for Wisconsin requests in Share the Technology's computer donation database found two organizations desperate for computers-Cope Community Mental Health Center in Delavan and Waukesha Police Dept.'s D.A.R.E. program. The web address: http://sharetechnology.org. The Cristina Foundation in Greenwich, Conn.-www.cristina.org-has a computer donation and request database that links unwanted computers with technology-hungry, but poor individuals and companies. Milwaukee's Independence First, a non-residential independent living center, needs IBM-compatible 486 computers or faster to help persons with disabilities in Southeastern Wisconsin get Internet access, job skills and computer skills. There is no cost to donate. Fifty people are on the waiting list, says Paulette Bartelt of Independence First. Since the program's launch in January 2000, 25 computers have been donated. Two are used at Independence First's office for job training. Most of the computers are given to people who complete Independence First's computer-training program, she says. The City of Milwaukee requires each of its departments to haul their aged office equipment, including computers, to a place called the Country Store to be sold. "Rather than throw it away we send it to the Country Store," says Cecilia Gilbert, the city's Public Works spokesperson. "Sometimes it sells, sometimes it doesn't." In 2001, the city has processed 2,681 computer parts including 500 CPU's, 872 monitors, 341 keyboards, 318 printers and 650 miscellaneous pieces.
The solution to sealing the recycling loop may be the computer manufacturers themselves. Last week the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and GrassRoots Action Network announced its "Take It Back, Make It Clean! Computer TakeBack Campaign." A 2001 Computer Report Card was also released rating computer manufacturers in "green" business sense. It can be found at www.svtc.org/cleancc/pubs/2001report.htm. The report found that our European counterparts had an easier time getting their old equipment recycled by the manufacturer. IBM in the U.S. charges $29.99 to take back old machines while in Apple in Germany charges nothing. The same held true for most computer sellers overseas. The 2001 report card rates Canon, Toshiba, IBM, Fujitsu, Sony and Hewlett-Packard as having the best green practices-from building the machine to throwing it away. Canon was rated the highest (35 points out of a possible 68). Among the worst are: Gateway, Sharp, Samsung, Dell and Compaq. But it still comes down to what the consumer wants that's creating all this waste. Perhaps we're all just victims of the marketplace we built, creating a demand for faster computers and then forgetting that we have to get rid of the old ones. "We're a society of consumers that thrive on obsolescence. We are consumers of vast amounts of electronic technology," suggests the city's Paul Biedrzycki. "The market is set up to accommodate obsolescence, or quick turnover." Charlene Lemoine, of the Waukesha County Environmental League, notes that "The drop-off sites are wonderful and donating to nonprofits is wonderful, but the burden of disposing the products falls on the taxpayer."
Where to Recycle Computers
County Inmates Paying Rent Approximately $5,787.39 has been taken in through Nov. 14 by the law firm hired to do collections. While that may seem small, it's money the financially strapped county wouldn't have had before, note supporters of the effort. The county approved a deal with Bruck Law Offices last year, but the operation didn't get started until September. According to the agreement, the firm can't target inmates who are below 125% of the poverty level, have child payments or receive assistance. It's estimated that 80% to 90% of the inmates are indigent and can't be billed for their stay. According to Bruck's Tim Frazier, his firm bills inmates at $14.05 a day for staying at the House of Correction in Franklin and $22.80 a day at the jail Downtown. He says letters are sent out to all inmates asking for financial disclosure statements. If the firm doesn't get one back, "we can only assume they can pay." If the address is bad, he says they start skip tracing. About 6,000 letters have gone out Frazier says. The nearly $6,000 came from 159 payments. Frazier says his firm's commission is "confidential," but county records show that Bruck Law Offices get 40% of whatever is brought in. The contract is for one year with options for two more years after that. "It's money the county wouldn't have any other way," adds Frazier. He says it's too early in the program to spot any trends. "I think that if they can afford to pay for it they should," notes County Supervisor T. Anthony Zielinski, the plan's sponsor. Kit McNally, executive director of the inmate advocate group Benedict Center, maintains "I think it's insane" that the county is going ahead with its reimbursement plan. "Part of the reason they are in the criminal justice system is that they aren't stable financially." Other charges the county imposes on its criminals are for electronic surveillance and for Huber stays, when a person is sentenced to work release. To use the phone in any of the detention facilities, it's a collect charge of $4. One question posed to House of Corrections officials is that inmates could be paid for work they do while incarcerated, which could not only go towards their housing bill, but offer them some spending money as well for extra supplies like paper, pencils, snacks, and certain medicines. Inmates aren't paid for their work at the House of Correction but are paid at the jail. There, janitors make between $1 and $3 a day and kitchen help makes $2 a day for 30 days and then $2.50 a day. Instead of pay, inmates are offered sentence reductions for holding jobs or attending classes at the House of Corrections. There are only 579 jobs for about 2,000 inmates at the House, ranging from the laundry room, kitchen, fish hatchery, farm and custodial. Jerry Weinzatl, assistant superintendent at the House, says paying inmates for work stopped about three or four years ago because the state allowed additional sentence reductions, of "good time," for working or going to class. He says inmates like the sentence reduction benefits and not paying "is a cost savings." He adds that the number of inmates getting GEDs has increased noticeably since the policy change. Indigent inmates are supplied with hygiene products for free, he says, while those who have spending accounts pay for them. McNally agrees with the good-time approach. "It would be disastrous if they got rid of it. It's sort of an insult to work for a pittance anyway."
Organizing on the Buses As head of the effort to organize school bus drivers employed by Laidlaw and Safeline bus companies, Swinford says he's confident the vote to unionize the more than 600 drivers this week will bring them the opportunity to bargain for benefits, a grievance procedure and workplace justice. Swinford, who works for District Council 48, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employee's AFL-CIO, says the companies are counting on fear to counter the organizing effort. Calls to the bus companies and Milwaukee Public Schools for comment were not returned. The union represents other drivers for Milwaukee Public Schools, some of whom make $19 an hour delivering mail or other materials between campuses, says Rich Abelson, executive director of District Council 48. Milwaukee garbage truck drivers start at $34,602 per year-or $16.64 per hour plus vacation and holiday pay, says Cecilia Gilbert, spokesperson for the Department of Public Works. By comparison, on successful completion of the training and receipt of a commercial driver's license, school bus drivers earn $11 an hour and get a $300 bonus-$150 on their first two pay checks. A call to Laidlaw's training facility found that the men and women who transport children for the company must be 19 years old and have held a regular driver's license for at least one year. The company gives applicants a two-week training period-one week inside, one week on the road-but does not pay for the training period, which prepares them for a commercial driving license test by the state. If the school bus drivers certify the union, they can bargain for sick leave, vacation days and paid holidays, Abelson says. "It's not just salary," Abelson said "It's the whole spectrum of economic issues-job security, safety, seniority. There are a myriad of issues." Abelson says that Laidlaw is "a huge, multinational organization" that is in bankruptcy. "They're trying to get the courts to separate the school bus transport into a separate corporation because it is profitable." One reason they're profitable, Abelson says, is because "a couple of years ago, the school board passed a dollar raise for the drivers but the company only passed a fraction of it on." He says the companies were playing the fear card, warning employees they may have to lay off drivers if the union gains a foothold. "The companies are running very aggressive, very vicious anti-union campaigns," Abelson says, something Laidlaw did when union organizing was successful at its Transit Plus operation. "They're holding 'captive meetings,' setting up sandwich bars for the workers and they even raffled off a television set for Thanksgiving." Drivers will know by Thursday which, if any, of the four terminals will have collective bargaining, Abelson says.
Hemp Food Ban Hits Here On Feb. 6, it will be illegal to sell or import hemp-containing foods, under a new rule of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The foods are being banned for import or sale because they contain traces of THC, the primary active constituent of marijuana. That being the case, healthful products like Hemp Nuggets (hulled hemp seeds), imported legally from Canada, and the Nutiva Organic Bar, containing the soon-to-be-illegal mix of sunflower seeds, honey, shelled hempseeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and, possibly, traces of peanut, will be removed from shelves or retailers will face criminal prosecution. At Outpost Natural Foods, 100 E. Capitol Drive, hemp-bearing items are being put on sale to reduce stock before the deadline. But employees were not sure which products were banned. Hemp producers may be healthy, but they're not wimps. Several hemp food products manufacturers and the Hemp Industry Association, their trade group, have asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay of the rule's enforcement while they seek a formal review of the hemp ban. Federal appeals courts are the designated forum for challenging agency rule-making actions. "The DEA has given the manufacturers and retailers of consumable hemp products until Feb. 6 to dispose of their inventory-a situation which they assert will ruin their businesses. They say that their products are no more harmful than poppy seed bagels, which contain tiny trace amounts of opiate compounds, or fruit juices, which contain traces of alcohol," writes Michael Ravnitzky in the Dec. 3 issue of National Law Journal. Products on the market that the DEA says are affected by the action include some beers, cheeses, coffees, corn chips, energy drinks, flours, ice creams, snack bars, salad oils, sodas and veggie burgers. Manufacturers say that there is no measurable THC content in these foods under tests available when Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act. Suppliers say hemp is used in food products because the seeds are a high-quality source of protein, and the hemp seed oil contains a variety of heart-healthy essential fatty acids not found in other food products. "Our industry is seeing industrial hemp take off," says David Bronner, whose family uses hemp to make Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. The firm's vice president is Ralph Bronner, who lives in Menomonee Falls. "Right now, food is the only issue," says Bronner, president. But can clothes, rope or soap be far off? "We feel industrial hemp has a lot of potential for fuel as an alternative to petrochemicals," he tells Shepherd Express.
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