You might be surprised as I was to find where your computer, peripherals, accessories, circuit boards and any E-waste that can be salvaged for scrap is ending up for "recycling" and who is doing the "recycling." The conditions are beyond appalling and would not be accepted in any Canadian workplace.
But that's why they are legal; the "recycling is being done so far away from Canada, many of the child and unskilled, illiterate adult labourers have probably never heard of or seen a book about Canada.
Thanks for the post. Hope more people catch it. I saw the program last night as well, and am not happy to see part of our recycling responsibility shipped to China.
Would we pay the extra cost for appropriate recycling, however, up front or farther down the line? That would be one of the big hurdles to face in this country.
I gladly pay the fee when I buy a new tire. However I wonder if the old tire is ending up on a tire heap somewhere. I am more than willing to pay for proper recycling of items when I buy new ones. What I would like however is to know that there is CANADIAN GOVERNMENT oversight in this "recycling process." It appears from this CBC report that there is very little oversigt. The last thing I want to think is that some poor teen or adult in China or India is pulling apart an old motherboard of my old computer.
I've been considering opening up a business in London similar to one I heard about in BC. It is a non profit program where they will take your old computers for free and they recycle them, either refurbishing them for use by others, or scrapping and disposing of the parts to responsible recycling firms. I'm still researching it, and am wondering if there is a desire for such a business here in our City. Any thoughts?
