The Bay Side Computer Shop, which accepted e-waste, was forced to close down as there was no space to accommodate additional e-waste and it had no money to ship the stockpile to the mainland for recycling.
In spite of having notified the public that no e-waste was being accepted, the public continued to dump the e-waste at the site. So much so, that it started spilling on to the roadside. Not only was it an eye-sore but it restricted vehicular movement.
The Hawaii Tribune Herald published an article describing the Bay Side Computer Shop’s dilemma and appealed to recyclers to help.
E-World Online, a national provider of responsible recycling solutions for consumer electronics manufacturers, quickly came to the rescue. It rallied its manufacturing partners to fund the collection, ship and recycle the 180,000 pounds of e-waste that had been dumped.
"We purchased all of the e-waste on the site, and we also paid the cost of shipping to the mainland," explained E-World Online President Cindy Erie, in a press release.
Erie further added, "The state is in the middle of a change in how e-waste collection and recycling is handled, and E-World and our manufacturing partners wanted to help smooth the transition by ensuring this e-waste did not fall between the cracks. Plus, we wanted to help out a small business. Bay Side Computer Shop was in a tough position."
E-World Online and its manufacturing partners purchased the electronics surplus from Bay Side and paid shipment costs for shipping the e-waste from Hawaii to Vista, California.
"The Department of Health is pleased that E-World Online stepped up to take this e-waste from the Big Island. We are hopeful that other recyclers and manufacturers will follow E-world Online's lead and provide collection services on the neighbor islands," said Steven Chang, Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch chief, in a statement to E-World Online.
Leading consumer electronics manufacturers rely on E-World Online to handle comprehensive e-waste take-back programs across the country.
Its proprietary web-based Manufacturer Interstate Take-Back System (MITS) helps to make e-waste recycling easy for consumers fulfilling manufacturer's responsibilities as required by state law.
Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
