In an article published July 28th 2013 by Tom Jackson a Tribune Staff writer, Tom explains his own personal experience in dealing with the recycling of his computer monitor via Pasco County and their contractor Quicksilver Recycling Services. My introduction to Pasco County's e-waste recycling program began quite out of the blue, the Dell computer monitor at my Wesley Chapel office refused to work one day. My IT guys suggested that I recycle it and that’s how I wound up driving last week to Pasco's electronics recycling outpost located on the northwest corner of the county's vast solid waste complex. There you will find Mickey McGee, from Plant City via Zephyrhills, who ushers obsolete electronics from resident’s vehicles and prepares them for transport to Quicksilver’s Tampa facility for processing. McGee’s on-site supervisor is Charley Ryburn, who oversees Pasco's hazardous waste disposal, a responsibility that falls under the jurisdiction of the utilities department. This day both are in the company of Jim Lawler, vice president of Tampa-based Quicksilver Recycling Services, which handles the vast bulk of gadgetry flowing through Pasco's e-waste program. In 2011-2012, this amounted to nearly 700 tons of TVs, computers (both laptops and desktops), cellphones, gaming consoles, monitors and who knows what else. Earlier, someone had dropped off avionic instruments from some unknown airplane. Most of it is inoperable, but some of it has simply been deposed by something newer. "Our biggest month," Ryburn says, "is January. People bring in the old TV and the box the new one came in." Mostly, however, stuff arrives that has been relegated, perhaps for years, to a closet or a garage corner, succumbing only to redecorating or relocation. Folks in the solid waste business call this clinging "attic mentality," the practice of hanging on to utterly obsolete or otherwise useless things for reasons hard to explain. Ryburn likes the program because it keeps heavy metals from going up the incinerator chimney or leaching into the ground water. Lawler likes the program because recovering those same materials, though labor intensive, is still cheaper than mining and it prevents pollution. McGee likes it because you never know what you're going to see next. I like it because they promised to be gentle with my sleepy old Dell monitor.
Gina McCarthy has been confirmed by a 59-40 Senate vote to serve as the next head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency according to Resource Recycling July 19th 2013. The confirmation followed more than four months of grueling debate between Democrats and Republicans over issues of transparency and data collection at EPA. A Boston native, McCarthy is known for her common-sense, science-driven approach and a rare ability to work with environmental groups and industry leaders. She served under both Democratic and Republican leadership and is said to be a friend of the electronics recycling industry. One of McCarthy's most important achievements came in 2007, when she led a successful legislative push to pass an e-scrap producer responsibility law in Connecticut that called on manufacturers to handle the collection and safe management of their end-of-life products. My own commentary on this appointment is that presently there is no federal legislation regarding electronics recycling, rather it is a patchwork of individual state legislation, each uniquely different, that exists amongst only twenty-six states, Florida not being one of them. Perhaps under McCarthy’s leadership she will bring electronics recycling experience that may lead to federal legislation so that we all (states) are on the same page when it comes to dealing with responsible electronics recycling
Quicksilver Recycling Services was founded in June of 1998, now celebrating our 15th anniversary. Throughout these fifteen years, Quicksilver has specialized in customizing recycling and reuse programs associated with electronics / IT equipment. Quicksilver Recycling Services is dedicated to the protection of the environment by offering our clients an environmentally sound, secure and economically viable program for retired (obsolete or reusable) electronics / IT equipment. The growth and success of Quicksilver Recycling Services is based on the long-term relationships that have been developed and exist between us. There is only one reason these long-term relationships exist and that is excellent customer satisfaction. Thank you to all who make a difference by selecting a responsible electronics recycler.
Nearly 959 million smartphones will be shipped in 2013, according to the latest estimates from International Data Corp., reports Resource Recycling Magazine – E-Scrap News June 6th. The 33 percent year-over-year increase in global shipments also represents the first time that smartphone shipments will eclipse conventional cell phones, according to IDC. Much of this growth is expected to come from emerging markets, which will account for 65 percent of all shipments this year, compared to just 43 percent of global smartphone shipments in 2010. The continued drop in the price of new units could potentially affect sales of refurbished phones, which are often resold in emerging markets or on budget carriers in developed markets. For those retired mobile devices, including phones, smartphones and tablets, Quicksilver Recycling Services provides our clients the assurance their mobile devices will be managed in an environmentally sound, secure and economically viable way whether recycling obsolete devices or refurbishing them for reuse purposes.
As a follow-up, according to Resource Recycling Magazine May 2013 President Obama's pick for the new director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is one step closer to starting work as Gina McCarthy's nomination moves to the Senate floor on a party-line vote. The contentious nomination of McCarthy, that was blocked last week by Senate Republicans, was approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a 10-8 vote, strictly along partisan lines. The nomination now heads to the floor of the Senate, where approval is not assured, with Senate Republicans threatening to filibuster unless given more information about how McCarthy would run the agency.
Quicksilver Recycling Services is now offering our clients an environmentally friendly on-site (your location) hard drive destruction option that is conformable with DoD 5220.22-M and NIST 800-88 Standards. Utilizing Quicksilver Recycling Services as your trusted partner to manage data security through process-controlled data destruction provides you with peace of mind that your organization is operating within regulatory compliance and that corporate privacy and reputation will remain intact. When scheduling your next electronics recycling pickup simply indicate that you would like for Quicksilver to destroy your hard drives on-site at your location and a specialty team along with our truck mounted hard drive destruction equipment will be deployed.
As a follow-up, according to Resource Recycling Magazine May 2013 Eight Republican U.S. senators from that body's Environment Committee have refused to vote on whether Gina McCarthy can fill the vacated directorship of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Saying that they had not received enough responses to reportedly more than 1,000 written questions, all of the Republican senators on the Environment Committee boycotted a vote that would have allowed her nomination to move on to the floor of the Senate. Even if the vote had been allowed to occur, McCarthy — who has been described as a "friend to recycling" — faced a filibuster from Senate Republicans. Even though, according to the Obama administration, McCarthy answered all of the 1,079 questions — a record number — the eight senators were "completely unsatisfied" by many of the answers and refused to let the committee vote on her nomination.
According to an article in E-Scrap News March 2013, President Obama has nominated Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy is currently an assistant administrator at the EPA. She is best known for her work on air quality and has occupied several state-level positions where she sought to increase recycling rates and helped launch a new electronics recycling program. McCarthy has served under both Democrats and Republicans and is said to be a friend of the electronics recycling industry. This administration has taken an interest in electronics recycling, launching efforts to provide better stewardship of the large volume of electronics that are discarded every year. My own commentary on this appointment is that presently there is no federal legislation regarding electronics recycling, rather it is a patchwork of individual state legislation, each uniquely different, that exists amongst only twenty-six states, Florida not being one of them. Perhaps under McCarthy’s leadership she will bring electronics recycling experience that may lead to federal legislation so that we all (states) are on the same page when it comes to dealing with responsible electronics recycling.
We are very excited to launch our new interactive website which accurately reflects our image and will be a useful tool for our clients and prospective clients. Some of the site’s features include the ability to ask a question, request a pickup or get a free quote. We will also be posting on our Blog relevant Quicksilver and industry news. Clients will be able to view Quicksilver’s credentials such as our DEP Permit, ISO certification and our Environmental Policy. If you have any questions about our history, facility or services the answers are all there. So if you haven’t already done so, in the spirit and the theme of the new site: Make a Difference Today… and select Quicksilver Recycling Services, a responsible electronics / IT equipment recycling and reuse partner that will provide you competitive pricing, experience and ability, environmental stewardship, unsurpassed customer service and regulatory / industry compliance. Please check it out and let us know what you think.
