We seem to all agree achieving sustainability whether at home or at work entails three types of practices: reuse, reduce and recycle. They all make perfect sense. Think of plastic bags and bottles, office paper and cartons, energy and water. In the three months following a rethinking of our energy and water consumption as well as our waste management practices, although we made significant milestones, we felt we could have achieved better results if we’d also replaced some items and if we could reinvent the way we live. Continue Reading »

Starting February 17, 2009, U.S. TV stations will switch from using analog signals to using digital signals. So the question is what will happen to your old TV when you take on this opportunity to buy a new one (of course, this does not apply to you if you consider purchasing a converter box)? The problem paused by disposing old TVs is not new. Americans have on average 2.6 TVs per household and replace one every 2 years.

If most TVs are donated or join the flourishing used electronic market (2,500 TVs listed on SF Bay Area’s craigs list today), many more end up in the exponentially growing electronics waste. And the amount ending up in landfills is likely to surge as an estimated 70 million TVs will become obsolete past that date. No doubt that some cleaver trade businesses will take on this opportunity to ship a large portion of them to Latin America, Asia and Africa where they will be sold or “recycled”. The recycling of ewastes in developing countries offers a gloomy illustration of an industry that lacks regulation and enforcement when products reach the end of their life cycle and the millions of TVs that will not find a second life will contribute to an environmental nightmare. Here and abroad. Continue Reading »