Toxic Electronic Waste

Our discarded electronics, (commonly referred to as E-Waste); computers, televisions, cell phones and such, are often being shipped out of the US and over to developing countries, only to turn those countries into toxic waste dumps. Residents of those countries often salvage portions of the waste, and the contents of it are used by them in a manner, which can be detrimental to their health and/or the environment's. There are some really easy solutions for disposal of EWaste, which can be found on Earth 911's website.

But, to get a better understanding of the improper methods of disposal of toxic electronic waste, watch the feature story that 60 Minutes will be airing this Sunday. Here's the video clip for more info about the upcoming 60 Minutes story:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Recyling Cell Phones - A Win-Win

My "Church-Son", Riley Hoobery, is an awesome guy, who has a heart bigger than the State of Idaho. Riley is an active volunteer for usually one or two organizations at any given time.

For the last couple of years, he's been the an area rep for Cell Phones For Life, Inc. Riley maintains drop boxes at several locations in our local community and then goes out and retrieves the phones that are donated.

If, you weren't aware, even after an owner of a cellphone terminates his cellphone provider service, i.e.; Sprint, Verizon, etc., the cellphone will still work if the battery is kept charged and can be used to call 911, in the event of an emergency.

So, these donated cell phones are then cleared of all contacts, phone numbers, and any miscellanous information and redistributed to the disabled, elderly and domestic violence shelters. There is no record back to the original owner. The broken or non-reusable phones are recycled through Project KOPEG out of Boise, ID.

What a wonderful way to keep your unwanted or broken cell phone out of the landfills! And then, the cell phone's lifetime is extended to who knows how long, being used by someone who may have no other way to call for help, in an emergency situation.

For more information you can email or call Riley. His email is rhoobery@fmtc.com and his contact phone is 206/888-6582. Also, you can get more information on this organization via their website at www.cellphonesforlife.org

P.S. Your donation is also Tax Deductible.