Topic
A bright idea to shrink the digital divide, and Third World landfills.
Know where your computer goes? Greenpeace/Enrique Soriano photo.
David Repa and Ifny Lachance, along with the rest of the folks at Free Geek Vancouver, want to give you a free computer.
All it will cost to participate in their "adoption program" is 24 volunteer hours. During that time you will help to refurbish six computers, five of which they'll give away to low-income people. At the end of it, you walk away with number six, a souped-up "Freekbox" outfitted with the latest version of Ubuntu (a user-friendly distribution of Linux, a free, open-source operating system).
Right now Repa, Lachance and co. are paying for the program out of their own pockets. They say they're concerned about the world's widening digital divide -- and the tonnes of toxic e-waste produced by Canadian consumers each year -- and they’re betting volunteers and donors will take note.
'Needy get nerdy'
Back in November of last year, Repa, 29, quit an 11-year stint in auto recycling to devote himself full-time to getting the first Canadian Free Geek off the ground. The original Free Geek in Portland, Oregon, served as a model.
Lachance, 32, a local bike activist, was already familiar with the Free Geek concept and jumped on board.
"We're dealing with a very large surplus of [discarded] computers [and] a lot of people who are desperate to connect and have the same things that a lot of people take for granted," Lachance says. "We take the two problems and put them together."
The Vancouver group shares its Portland parent's slogan: "Helping the needy get nerdy since the beginning of the 3rd millennium."
Profit in non-profit
But in financial terms, finding support in the city is proving more challenging than Repa and Lachance expected, with would-be backers reluctant to take the group seriously.
"[People] need to learn that non-profit doesn't mean no money," Repa says. "Free Geek [Portland] runs a half a million dollar budget."
A province-wide electronics waste collection and recycling program beginning today will mark a crucial step in ensuring that toxic tech-junk is dealt with responsibly. However, so far the public and local recyclers are being left in the dark on perhaps the most important question: where's it all going to go?
The industry-led Electronics Stewardship Association of B.C. (ESABC) in partnership with Encorp Pacific, have developed a pilot recycling system for "end-of-life" electronics such as computers, TVs, printers and fax machines.
But Sarah Westervelt, an e-waste toxics research analyst for the Basel Action Network (BAN), affirms there has been no official announcement about which three B.C. recyclers will be taking on the waste that will be collected at the Return-It Depots.
"Now, of course all this starts on Aug. 1, so you can imagine that the decisions have been made. Whoever is taking the equipment has to be ramped up to handle that," says Westervelt, whose organization works globally to prevent toxic trade and dumping.
At stake is how and where the 33 toxic elements and compounds that are found in computers -- including mercury, cadmium and lead -- will be handled. 140,000 tonnes of e-waste are dumped in Canadian landfills each year.
"One of our challenges is that we want to use recyclers that are as local and as sustainable as possible," says Ifny Lachance, director of the non-profit recycling organization, Free Geek Vancouver, which refurbishes and redistributes computers.
Free Geek wants to participate in the program by reusing as many units as possible and redistributing them to people who can't afford computers in the Lower Mainland.
"For us to be locked into dealing with the materials handlers that the Recycling Council of British Columbia decides are good is not really okay with us. We know that we're doing things that nobody else is doing," says Lachance.
While consumers will still be free to give used electronics directly to reuse organizations, BAN's main concern is that the ESABC may not grant access to the equipment dropped at Return-It Depots to reuse organizations like Free Geek, resulting in many functional electronics being disposed of unnecessarily.
"We really believe that the best outcome for human health and the environment would be to try to extend the life of these products," Westervelt says. She is concerned that the environmental handling fee paid by the consumer on new electronics (ranging from $5 to $45) fails to get to the root of the problem because it lets manufacturers off the hook.
"Requiring the manufacturer to take their products back at the end of their life cycles is really the best way to drive redesign and phase out toxins, especially if the manufacturer has to pay these end-of-life costs and incorporate them into the price of a new product."
-- Rhianon Bader / Tooth and Dagger
Still, Repa says, Free Geek is already making a big impact. "I was filling out a grant application and one question said 'What's one major lesson you've learned in this venture so far?' It was a very simple answer. I wrote: 'You don't need a building to build community.'"
He estimates that over 100 people have become involved with Free Geek since the group's inception in November of last year.
In addition to monthly meetings and an active mailing list, Free Geek hosts "Windowless Wednesday" Linux clinics, movie nights and other events at various locations in Vancouver, including Spartacus Books, SPEC and Video In. All events are, of course, free and open to the public.
E-waste buzz
Repa couldn't have picked a more opportune moment. E-waste is big news. With documentaries like Jennifer Baichwal's Manufactured Landscapes and GOOD Magazine's video on YouTube, technology users are starting to see images of the devastation caused by electronics "recycling" in India, China and other developing countries.
According to the Basel Action Network, a non-profit committed to bringing the developing world into compliance with the Basel Convention, "Canada and the U.S.A. are the only developed countries in the world that have failed to control export of hazardous electronic waste to developing countries."
We have also failed to demand that electronics manufacturers take responsibility for the end-of-life recycling of the products they produce.
Reuse your refuse
Canadian lawmakers are finally stepping in. This February, the province of British Columbia passed legislation that will come into effect this month, making it illegal to throw out many forms of e-waste, including computers and entertainment electronics. (It is already illegal to do so in Alberta.)
Included in the new electronics stewardship plan are regulations against exporting e-waste to non-OECD or non-EU member countries, and the use of prison labour.
A recycling fee -- about $45 for a desktop computer -- will be charged to the consumer at purchase. Much of the volume will be handled by Encorp, the same company that handles glass bottles and tetra packs across the province.
But Free Geek is poised to reuse the refuse before it heads to the smelter. And if their application for charitable status is successful, they will have the advantage of being able to offer tax receipts to individual and corporate donors in exchange for second-hand hardware.
Open-source values
Although there are other non-profits in the Lower Mainland that refurbish and redistribute donated computer hardware to the needy (including the Electronics Recycling Association, reBOOT Vancouver/Computers-to-Go and Computers for Schools), one of the things that sets Free Geek apart is its commitment to the open-source ethos.
On a practical level, people can't use older hardware with a Microsoft product.
"It would just be a slow dog," says Repa of the resulting refurbished computer. "A lot of other charities that give out computers use Windows '98, or Windows 2000. They either have to charge for the computers, or give out obsolete operating systems."
For those wary of a non-Microsoft alternative like Linux, Repa says open-source has come a long way. "I just sent a Linux box to my folks back in Ontario. They're in their 60s, and they love it. It's completely stable, there's no viruses, no spyware, nothing.... I figure they're a good litmus test of how Ubuntu is doing."
But open-source software is more than just a convenient way for Free Geek to avoid paying licensing fees and make better use of old hardware. Lachance believes that planned obsolescence represents a "cynical relationship" between companies and consumers. She says the use of open-source represents a strong stance against proprietary hardware and Digital Rights Management. "If you don't want to be promoting the ideologies of a lot of these companies, then it's important not to use their products."
Reduce, reuse
In addition to the adoption program, the centre will offer a build program for the more ambitious, a variety of free workshops, and a thrift store selling second-hand parts and accessories. "Last year [Free Geek Portland] did just under a quarter million in thrift store sales," Repa notes.
What that means is a lot of keyboards, mice and monitors getting a second chance, fewer coming off the shelves at Future Shop and tonnes less e-waste going to the landfills, here or abroad.
Now all you have to figure out is what to do with your broken and obsolete cell phones, pagers, PDAs, MP3 players, stereos, digital cameras, calculators, clock radios, video game systems, TVs, VCRs, walkmans, discmans, ghetto blasters and tamagochis.
[Editor's note: Free Geek will be presenting a talk by Sarah Westervelt, and the Basil Action Network films "The Digital Dump" and "Exporting Harm" on Aug. 2, 7 p.m. at SFU Harbour Centre. For more info visit freegeekvancouver.org or call 604-879-4335.]
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seth
5 years ago
free internet for the free computer
Cities all over North America are offering free or low cost wireless internet. One of the justifications is to get low income people on the net.
Freegeeks can give out computers but its up to our city and provincial politicians to get us online a reasonable cost. BC Hydro could do it as part of their smart meter program for less than $2 monthly.
Unfortunately to date, BC's politicians are too enamored with those enormous telephone and cable company campaign donations to remember their oath of office and help out the citizens.
Perhaps Freekgeeks should consider throwing in a FON wireless unit with each computer so we can do it for ourselves.
Avicenna
5 years ago
The Geeks shall inherit the earth - what a debt!
An initiative after my own heart. I've spread the word to all my near and dear geeks and hope to attend the upcoming meeting as to how I can contribute to the success of this grassroots endeavour. Although my tech skills are more a burden then a blessing, I do have some ingenuity when it comes to finding support in the form of grants and partnerships - which is an area that may need a bit of a boost.
On an aside note (though still on the theme of moving towards zero-waste) Encorp just announced that they will be taking electronic waste, but they have been quieter on the milk carton recycling program that has also been recently initiated. So while you're waiting for the civic strike to play out - you could take all those milk and dairy alternative containers down to a nearby Encorp site to recycle (finally!).
JP
5 years ago
The new deposit charge on electronics is a start...
But it still doesn't discriminate between different products. Which begs the question, where is the incentive to be green. I can produce a laptop with lead and cadmium-nickel product and get the same deposit charge as a greener computer.
To consider a simple example, take the screen lamp in a laptop. Most today are florescent tubes with heavy metals. The alternative is LED lighting, which is more expensive. But both products will have the same deposit cost.
Governments have to get proactive when it comes to polluter taxes and make the difference between those who care and those who don't. This levy idea as it stands resembles too much a purchased absolution.
But of course if a computer's life can be stretched out a couple more years then that is always a good thing.
jwstewart
5 years ago
Facts incorrect
The fees mentioned are incorrect.
A desktop computer is $10.
A notebook computer is $5
A monitor is $12.00
TV 18” or less: $15
TV 19” to 29”: $25
TV 30” to 45”: $30
TV 46” or more: $45
Fridge with built-in TV: exempt
I wonder if monitors with built-in beverage coolers would be exempt ?
sdgreen
5 years ago
Good Idea - But the cash Grab!
This is a good initiative and should cover all products, but I do question the tariff rates. They are too high.
Seems to me that with all the plastics, and metal, that who ever prepares them for recycling should also get hansom revenues without the tariffs.
Pulling a computer or television apart is not rocket science.
Countrytype
5 years ago
E waste destiny in BC
The end of the article hints at what I've heard to be the case: E-waste handled by Encorp is sent by rail to the Teck Cominco smelter in Trail, BC. I haven't heard of any other local recycler disassembling the e-waste, but would be interested to hear if anyone else has.
Teck has been marketing this smelting of e-waste for a couple years, mainly to Alberta. It allowed them to keep one of their furnaces open. Computer monitors and chips are a very concentrated source of metals compared to some ores that are currently mined. The plastics are burned as fuel in the Trail smelter, which would normally need to be fuelled by something petroleum based, and plastic has a good btu rating. This is more responsible than sending our dead electronics to the third world, in that resources are recovered, and waste management kept in-country. Teck Cominco is well known to regulators, and is required to minimize air emissions from the smelter, although I hear that the US or DFO has taken them to court over air emissions in the valley that crossed the US border or that affected fish. Going to court is better than not being caught though - they will be improving their emissions capture if national laws are involved.
Before anyone shrieks that all those materials should be recycled instead of smelted, realize that this is a great way to separate all the mixed welded metals out of broken chips and crt glass. Think about the cost of the handling fee relative to the cost of safe in-Canada disassembly and full component testing of old and actually broken/worn out computers at competitive Canadian wages. There are a few specialist recyclers in North America who remake only leaded CRT glass, but CRT sales are falling.
Rail is one of the most energy efficient ways to transport e-waste. (Now if they would put the new particulate traps on the diesel locomotive exhausts, it would be even cleaner).
Countrytype
5 years ago
E-waste in BC - why smelt, reuse options?
Fees for the TVs and monitors seem reasonable to me. It takes a lot of time and space to transport, pack and store the monitors safely. They have to be strongly wrapped in cling wrap and kept out of the rain which will leach metals out of monitors and cpu's if they get wet. Encorp depots will also possibly turn away TVs and monitors with broken glass(too dangerous for staff to handle, lead and metal dust will get all over).
I wonder what will become of large servers and other electronics not accepted by Encorp for ease of handling reasons. I assume that they could be recycled by disassembly or sending to Teck Cominco for smelting, but haven't heard. Does anyone out there reading this know? Is there a good resale market?
I haven't seen any evidence that Encorp would be testing for working computers or TV's and diverting them to reuse streams. If you have electronics that work and need no repair, please please take them somewhere that will have them reused rather than to one of the few Encorp depots that accept electronics for smelting. Freecycle and Craigslist are also great ways to get rid of your working electronics.