Electronic Recyclers International
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Houston, we have a problem. John Shegerian has recognised it and he intends to offer the solution with his innovative company Electronic Recylers International (ERI).
John recognises that we are facing an e-waste crisis. We all love our gadgets, in fact they seem to be necessary to function in 21st century life, but built in obselescnce and a massive turnover of the ‘latest’ gadget means e-waste is pilling up in our landfills, languishing around our homes unused or worse still, being shipped to other countries for them to deal with.
John understands, that like a weed in a bed of flowers, old electronics are not rubbish; they are simply a resource in the wrong place.
His mission is to keep e-waste out of landfills, repurpose the rare and valuable metals such as platinum and keep hazardous materials such as mercury and arsenic out of the environment. In other words, John is passionate about a “Cradle to Cradle” future where materials are converted back into raw commodities and used to create new products; just as nature shows us every season, every day …
John is a man on a mission to become number 1, and he’s making a fine job of it already! To date, John’s company is the one stop recycling solution in the US. From photo copiers to batteries, ERI recycles all types of electronic equipment and has in place the infrastructure to service all 50 US states.
How has he got to number one? By recognising that social media is big news and utilising it to deliver up to date services to his clients. Who can ignore the statistic that Social Media has overtaken porn as the activity on the Web!? And who can allow their inner romantic to ignore the fact that 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media?
But it’s not all about e-waste. Oh no, John’s planning on saving the world from ALL its waste! (unless I get there first that is). If you have any materials to dispose of, you can head over to his 1-800 Recycling site and use a postcode (zip code) locator, dial 1-800-RECYCLING from your phone, enter your zip code and select the material you want to recycle or use the number 1 Recycling App for the Apple iPhone; the aptly named “My Recycle List”.
John and his band of merry men and women also run a fantastic blog. There have been some great stories recently about an artist who created celebrities faces from ‘junk’ and a Texas artist who has found a way to make cassette tape into fabric.
There are numerous ways to keep up with their latest news. You can join their Facebook fans, follow them on Twitter or entertain yourself with their You Tube videos which incidentally have been watched over 1.7 million times; making it the most popular channel of any green site on YouTube.
The bit I love most though is their Green Is Good FM Radio show. This is where I first met John Shegerian, when he asked me for an interview alongside the wonderful Andy from Do The Green Thing. Each week they host a 1 hour show with 2 guests from the world of green. They’ve intereviewed everyone from bloggers like me to huge corporations such as Timberland and Walmart.
So to all our US readers, now there are no excuses to throwing things in the landfill – you have the answers at your fingertips thanks to Ecopreneur, John Shegerian!
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Tags: e-waste
I’ve just watched a very inspiring film, about 2 people who are actively putting Cradle to Cradle principles into practice: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/waste-food/
Here is the blurb for the film:
waste production world wide is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. But there is hope. The German chemist, Michael Braungart, and the American designer-architect William McDonough are fundamentally changing the way we produce and build. If waste would become food for the biosphere or the technosphere (all the technical products we make), production and consumption could become beneficial for the planet.
A design and production concept that they call Cradle to Cradle. A concept that is seen as the next industrial revolution. Design every product in such a way that at the end of its lifecycle the component materials become a new resource. Design buildings in such a way that they produce energy and become a friend to the environment.
Large companies like Ford and Nike are working with McDonough and Braungart to change their production facilities and their products. They realize that economically seen waste is destruction of capital. You make something with no value. Based on their ideas the Chinese government is working towards a circular economy where Waste = Food. An amazing story that will definitely change your way of thinking about production and consumption. (Excerpt from vpro.nl)
And here is an amazing guy who is making totally sustainable houses from nothing but recyclable material: http://earthship.com/
There is hope after all
@John: Thanks for both the links, John. I love the stuff you send our way. Tonight I’m going to watch ‘A new We’ which looks inspirational, about 10 low impact communities across Europe