As an e-waste recycler, many interesting things come through the front door - especially old technology. Piles and piles of old technology.... mostly of the cheap and cheerful variety.
But now and then there's an absolute gem.
Recently an old IBM ended up on my workbench. It was sturdy and practical - and when I opened it up I had no choice but to say "wow". It was beautifully hand-crafted, no automatic machine soldering or sloppy robotic efforts in sight. Wires were cloth-clad or rubber-coated and labeled by hand. Each join, each connection, each component was carefully placed and secured. It may have hummed along for many years, but there was no accumulated dust and grime - filters and fans had done their thing.
A few days ago a reel-to-reel tape recorder occupied the same spot on my workbench. It's probably older than I am, both complicated and simple, with many, many screws and nuts and bolts. Each had a purpose, all moving parts worked smoothly together - all put together by hand.
Every day, cookie-cutter modern throw-aways end up in my care. It's easy to break and strip them without really noticing what you're doing.
But there are some items that deserve to be treated with respect. Appreciated, admired, perhaps set aside and rescued from the pile. At the very least recycled mindfully, not uncaringly. Components and systems that make you pause and look properly at them.
Yes, it's just metal and glass and plastic. It's unfeeling technology. But the people who made it, the minds who dreamed it into being, these created and crafted things of beauty. Items that did the job and did it well for many many years.
And that commands my respect, my admiration as I carefully deconstruct what they have made.
Respect
Organic
"Organic" and "E-Waste" aren't usually two labels you'll find in one sentence, but there's always a first time!
Although Virgin Earth has been my "label" for many years, it's been a sorta hold-all for many things. That is, until a year ago. Until our main focus became e-waste recycling. This blog has been dormant for a while, and for good reason. Virgin Earth has been very very busy.
In a few words, Virgin Earth has grown organically in a very un-organic industry. Piles of metal, plastic and old technology don't really bring to mind green growing things! Though I do admit to finding traces of ex-life in a few components among the dust and cobwebs. There are a couple of bugs who died a very high-tech death.
And yet the whole focus of recycling all this stuff is really green - it's entire aim is to prevent human discards ending up clogging the landfills and environment with junk. In the process we as e-waste recyclers deal with very un-green products.
There is a huge need for our services. In recent months we've helped companies and schools, individuals and distributors find an ethical way to remove old machinery from their lives. It's usually replaced by new stuff - and the good thing with this is that newer technology is increasingly more environmentally-friendly. We're taking energy-hogging chunks of metal and plastic out of the equation, reducing the load on the system, and clearing the back rooms of junk.
And thus the focus of this blog is shifting as Virgin Earth continues to organically grow and fill the gaps between thrower-away and cleaner planet. It's time to shift gears and give you a look at life behind the scenes of an e-waste recycler.
What to expect? A sneak peek at what we do, how we do it, some thoughts on what's going on in the e-waste world, a bit of personal experience, and a post or two on news happening the planet over.
Watch this space.. you may just learn something!
Saving the Landfills
At the end of 2007, Virgin Earth took a good hard look at local businesses and saw a need for an e-waste recycling service.
It's something that is still new in South Africa, although there are a number of companies getting involved. Regulation is still being developed, but Virgin Earth is attempting to keep practices in line with WEEE directives, as already enforced by European law.
The first organization to take advantage of Virgin Earth's e-waste recycling has been MiX Telematics' Stellenbosch office. An agreement was signed earlier this year to process all e-waste generated on site in an earth-friendly and eco-sensitive manner. Recycling bins are provided and serviced regularly, with arrangements for bulk collection of e-waste available as needed.
Others have since joined the party by adding their discarded electronics to the cause. A monitor here, a broken mouse there, a length of cable or a few non-functioning CDs - it all adds up to a considerable volume that would have been left to disintegrate in a landfill!
What happens to the e-waste?
After site removal, it is examined to determine how it should be processed. It is broken down to the smallest possible volume. Computer components, for example, will have all screws and fixing points removed to seperate the parts. These are then sorted into various "ingredients" such as metals, plastic and glass. From there the e-waste is recycled as safely as possible.
Virgin Earth has committed to community involvement - and e-waste recycling forms a part of it. As this drive grows, it will see cash, skills and work opportunities poured back into the community.
For more information, download our E-Waste Brochure.
The Road Ahead
So what's in store for Virgin Earth - what's down the line?
The beauty of Virgin Earth is that it's not set in stone. While still operating sans website, it's been able to adapt fluidly to take advantage of a number of opportunities and fill gaps as they arose. That's not going to stop now that VE has a URL!
As a business, there are a number of avenues VE will be venturing down. E-Waste processing is starting to take off, and we'll be looking at expanding this service to other businesses that generate e-waste on a regular basis.
A Downloads section will be added to the website soon, with just-for-fun screensavers and wallpaper.
The Shop is under review with new products on offer available shortly. This section will also serve as a payment portal in the future for regular VE customers who subscribe to our services.
Look for a Stock Photos page within the next month, with both free and for-sale photographs available.
And finally, watch for news and reports on what Virgin Earth is doing locally.
Virgin Earth is just getting started!
Virgin Earth goes live!
After just over two years of the domain being parked, Virgin Earth went live today! The domain has simply been biding its time until the site was defined and all those ideas rattling around had been brought into one place.
It's still a work in progress. It will still grow and develop, quite possibly into avenues I have yet to imagine. But it's live, and I'm grinning!
Welcome to Virgin Earth. At last.