Thank You!
We appreciate our community and are glad to be able to serve our local residents, schools, organizations and businesses. We’ve had a record year in the amount of ewaste recycled, computers donated and sold, interns trained and money donated to schools and school foundations.
We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to doing even more in the New Year! Wishing you all the very best and hoping for a safe, healthy and prosperous (however you may define that) 2022.
TE Hits100Tons
Triangle Ecycling Has Kept 100 Tons of Toxic Ewaste Out of Durham’s Landfill Year-to-Date.
Imagine a convoy of 14 trailer trucks packed full of old computers, printers, monitors, batteries and other discarded electronics pulling up to the dump and dropping it into a big hole to leach toxins into the earth for the next 1,000 years. One Durham small business/nonprofit has prevented that from happening, this year alone.
Triangle Ecycling, announced today that it has recycled the benchmark weight of 100 tons of toxic ewaste since January 2021. Now in its 11th year of serving the Triangle Community, the grand total is many times that.
Larry Herst, Founder/CEO said, “We are grateful to be able to support the businesses, schools and organizations from downtown Durham, Raleigh, RTP and beyond that use our recycling services. These clients and our individual community customers using our free drop-off help us to make a positive environmental impact.”
“And that number doesn’t include the more than 1,000 computers we have refurbished this year and donated to local nonprofits and students or sold to support our educational program. We even pull old processors from desktops before recycling to remarket and play a small role in reducing the chip shortage that has disrupted the global supply chain,” added Herst.
Triangle Ecycling is a triple bottom line business that gives 10% of its profits to the Durham Public Schools Foundation in support of Digital Equity. It works closely with the CTE Division of DPS and Durham Tech through its semester-long internship program which has graduated over 140 students. In the past month it has established a computer lab for the Thresholds nonprofit, donated laptops for the DPS Student of the Month and provided computers to mothers graduating from the Families Moving Forward residency program.
Triangle Ecycling is self-sustaining but this year it established Ecycling4Good, to raise funds for a coalition of environmentally-oriented Durham nonprofits empowering community members to support their work during this difficult pandemic year.
Apple faces shareholder action targeting repair policy
ESCRAP NEWS
Updated: September 16, 2021
by Colin Staub
An environment-focused investment firm this month filed a shareholder resolution with Apple, asking the OEM to move away from its “restrictive” product repair policies.
Green Century Capital Management on Sept. 9 announced the shareholder proposal. Through the resolution process, Apple shareholders may be asked to vote on the measure at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Apple shares make up 3.71% of one fund managed by Green Century, which is based in Portland, Maine.
“Investors are extremely concerned about Apple’s disingenuous combination of promoting environmental sustainability while inhibiting product repair,” Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich said in a release. “The company risks losing its reputation as a climate leader if it does not cease its anti-repair practices.”
The announcement acknowledged Apple has grown its independent network. But Green Century said the OEM “continues to earn criticism not only for denying consumers and independent repair shops access to repair materials but also designing products in such a way that hinders repair.”
Growing Threat of E-waste Affecting Millions of Children Worldwide, WHO Warns
Please help @TrianglEcycling address this global environmental/humanitarian crisis by bringing your electronics in for recycling. 9:30-5 weekdays. It's free.
Growing Threat of E-waste Affecting Millions of Children Worldwide, WHO Warns
E-Waste is the Fastest Growing Waste Stream Globally by 5X
And only 17% of all electronics are being responsibly recycled.
Learn more from this video by one of the industry leaders. CLICK HERE.
Leading Teachers Focus on Sustainability Education
FROM THE SAMSUNG NEWSROOM…
“E-waste is something I was unaware of as being a problem,” said Covey Denton, a K-8 teacher from Sallie B. Howard School of the Arts and Science in North Carolina. “I have always just taken old electronics to my local electronics store to be ‘recycled.’ I definitely think educating consumers about the hazards and need to recycle E-waste properly is important for the good of our environment.” READ MORE…
Inside the Olympics' circularity strategy
Director & Senior Analyst, Circular Economy
GreenBiz Group
One hundred percent of the approximately 5,000 medals awarded at the Tokyo games this year will be made from gold, silver and bronze extracted from the used consumer electronics sourced from people across Japan. READ MORE….
20 Staggering E-Waste Facts in 2021
FROM EARTH911
It feels as if electronics were made to be thrown out every year, right? From mobile phones that just happen to die right when your contract is over to televisions that become obsolete as soon as a larger, thinner version debuts.
While every generation of electronics gets a little more efficient, we should make our phones, tablets, TVs, and computers last as long as possible to reduce the amount of e-waste sent to landfills — and most of our electronics still go unrecycled. Most surprising of all, though, is the billions of dollars worth of precious metals and rare-earth elements that go into landfills each year because of carelessly disposed of electronics. Countries are literally throwing away money every day. MORE…
Why we need to think beyond recycling to tackle e-waste
Matthew Cockerill, an Independent Strategic Consultant, explains why we need to think beyond recycling to tackle e-waste
The consumer electronics industry is starting to consider e-waste, but it is still the fastest-growing domestic waste stream on earth, with the world generating 53.6 million metric tonnes in 2019 according to a UN report published last year. Whilst COVID has seen a slump in electronic sales, the drop is expected to be temporary, with e-waste projected to grow almost 40% by 2030.
Soaring e-waste affects the health of millions of children, WHO warns
First WHO report on e-waste and child health calls for more effective and binding action to protect children from growing health threat
WHO NEWS RELEASE
Effective and binding action is urgently required to protect the millions of children, adolescents and expectant mothers worldwide whose health is jeopardized by the informal processing of discarded electrical or electronic devices according to a new ground-breaking report from the World Health Organization: Children and Digital Dumpsites.
“With mounting volumes of production and disposal, the world faces what one recent international forum described as a mounting “tsunami of e-waste”, putting lives and health at risk.” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "In the same way the world has rallied to protect the seas and their ecosystems from plastic and microplastic pollution, we need to rally to protect our most valuable resource –the health of our children – from the growing threat of e-waste.” READ MORE…
Win a Laptop with a $25 Donation
Know someone in need of a good laptop?
Enter to win one that avoids e-waste!
For our final raffle of the year, Don't Waste Durham is thrilled to announce that our e-waste-fighting friends at Triangle Ecycling in Durham are offering a certified refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad T450s laptop to a lucky donor!
This weekend ONLY, donate $25 or more to our fundraiser between Now & Midnight ET tomorrow (Sunday, April 25th) to be automatically entered to win! All $25+ donations receive a thank you prize!
Learn about raffle rules, donation prizes, and Triangle Ecycling below!
Go to Don’t Waste Durham
Laptop features:
5th-generation Intel i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, & 256 GB Solid State Drive, making it super fast for work, home or play!
Lightweight & compact, the 14” 1600 x 900 high resolution screen is excellent for work, watching videos/Netflix or playing basic games.
720p HD webcam for video calls and fingerprint scanner for security Currently going for $349-429+ online!
With only minor scratches on the lid and display, this laptop is in great working condition, and comes complete with a good battery and charger.
Could be a great gift for a student!
DONATED BY TRIANGLE ECYCLING
Questions about the laptop? Email Cristian at cristian@triangleecycling.com.
Raffle Drawing Rules:
Each donation is a single raffle ticket entry—No limit on number of entries per person!
Donations to enter raffle are not tax-deductible (IRS rule)
Open to all current North Carolina residents aged 18 & older at time of entry
Only new donations occurring during drawing period (above) will be eligible
Winner will be selected at random & emailed by Monday night (4/26/21)
Winner will receive their laptop via delivery, if local. Otherwise, via shipping.
Want to donate during this raffle but not participate in it? After donating, let us know in a reply to this email by midnight ET on Sunday (4/25/21). This will keep your donation tax-deductible.
A big thank you to Triangle Ecycling for their generous support, and to everyone who has participated in our raffles so far! We are halfway to our goal!
Everyone who donates at or above these levels will still receive prizes, even if you don't win!
Durham’s Plan To Plant 1,500 Trees a Year May Face Funding, Development Challenges
This story was produced through a partnership between the INDY and The 9th Street Journal, which is published by journalism students at Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy.
For almost three years now, the city of Durham has committed to planting 1,500 trees a year, nearly all of them in low-income communities.
The city’s initiative to add more street trees is an effort to maintain Durham’s canopy and address historic discrimination that extended even to the ground between streets and sidewalks.
But this ambitious program faces questions about how it will be funded, and whether the rapid development in Durham’s booming real estate market will uproot trees as quickly as new ones are planted. READ MORE…
Community Based Ecycling
By Jared Paben for eScrap News
Giving away products and profits may not strike the average CEO as a sound strategy for business success, but it can pay some healthy dividends.
Just ask Larry Herst, who founded nonprofit electronics recycling and reuse business Triangle Ecycling in 2011. Over the years, the Durham, N.C. organization has grown its workforce, customer base and community support programs.
“I’ve practiced law for many years and ran other businesses – for-profit businesses – and what I’ve really learned is that the more a company gives back to its community, the better it does,” said Herst, the CEO of Triangle Ecycling. “And the more it incorporates that into its culture, the happier the people who work at the company are.” Read More…
What is E-waste and its Impact on the environment
by Sony T
in Tech news
The market for electronic equipment has grown by much in recent years. At the same time, the life of these items has become limited. Most of these items are winding up in junkyards and recycling points, giving rise to new problems. Electronic waste is any electronic item that contains electronic parts and is towards the end of its life cycle. Undiscovered to several buyers, electronic items have poisonous substances. Along these lines, they need careful handling. READ MORE…
Fashion Trends Are Often Recycled. Now More Clothing Can Be, Too.
By Ellen Rosen - New York Times
This article is part of our new series, Currents, which examines how rapid advances in technology are transforming our lives.
Sustainability in the fashion industry was once the focus of only a handful of designers like Stella McCartney and outdoor gear companies such as Patagonia.
But traditional and new brands are trying to improve a supply chain increasingly criticized for contributing to landfills and causing other forms of pollution throughout the manufacturing process.
From collaborating on the creation of biofibers to the manufacturing of environmentally friendly tag fasteners, some in the apparel sector are working with technology start-ups to clean up the world’s closets. Read More…
What Trees Teach Us about Being More Human and Mastering the Difficult Art of Seeing Others as They Truly Are
BY MARIA POPOVA on MARTIN BUBER on TREES
“Everything belonging to the tree is in this: its form and structure, its colours and chemical composition, its intercourse with the elements and with the stars, are all present in a single whole.” READ MORE…
George Saunders on What Buddhists Can Offer the World Right Now
From Tricycle Interview with Saunders:
“For me, what Buddhism teaches us is the ability to say something like, “Aha, so this is how it sometimes is.”
Mindfulness and Thrifting
Important Message from CommunityWorx Thrift Shop
The act of thrifting can be restorative as part of a mindfulness practice. When we shop for secondhand clothing and used goods, we become more thoughtful and intentional as consumers. When we donate home goods and gently used clothing we become environmental stewards.
The Art and Science of Mindfulness by Shauna L. Shapiro and Linda E. Carlson
Free TV Recycling in Durham
Put TV at the curb for collection. Television collection is offered by appointment only and is not considered a bulky item.
A maximum of 3, 32 inch (screen size) TVs or larger should be placed at the curb by 6 a.m. the morning of your garbage collection.
Call Durham One Call at 919-560-1200 for information or to schedule an appointment.
Or, Drop off at Waste Disposal and Recycling Center (Transfer Station)
2115 East Club Boulevard, Durham, NC 919-560-4611
The Bottom Line
By Jared Paben For E-Scrap News
Giving away products and profits may not strike the average CEO as a sound strategy for business success, but it can pay some healthy dividends.
Just ask Larry Herst, who founded nonprofit electronics recycling and reuse business Triangle Ecycling in 2011. Over the years, the Durham, N.C. organization has grown its workforce, customer base and community support programs.
“I’ve practiced law for many years and ran other businesses – for-profit businesses – and what I’ve really learned is that the more a company gives back to its community, the better it does,” said Herst, the CEO of Triangle Ecycling. “And the more it incorporates that into its culture, the happier the people who work at the company are.” READ MORE…