PRESS RELEASE

Eco-Cycle Awards Top Zero Waste Ideas

BOULDER (May 25, 2000) - It's an idea that will have a lot of appeal to people with old computers tucked away in attics unable to recycle or find anybody to use them. Boulder resident Joe Enzor has won Eco-Cycle's contest for best Zero Waste idea with what he sees as a simple solution to the computer glut: a disposal fee on computers to pay for a recycling or manufacturer take-back program. "Computers become outdated so quickly that we need to develop a system for properly disposing of them," said Enzor. "The only way this can be done is by funding a recycling or company take-back program. Companies, not just consumers, should bear some of the cost for doing this though," he said.

Currently, such disposal fees - known as Advanced Disposal Fees - exist for toxic items like car batteries and motor oil to keep them out of landfills and facilitate safe disposal. "People don't think of computers as potentially hazardous to the environment but they are," says Eric Lombardi, Executive Director of Eco-Cycle. "Computer monitors contain five pounds of lead and lead can also be found in the solder points of most electronics. This is not the type of stuff you want in a landfill," said Lombardi. Lombardi points out that Massachusetts just outlawed dumping computers in landfills and Norway requires that 70-90% of electronics to be taken back by their producers for recycling or reuse.

The second-place Zero Waste idea came from Boulder resident Naomi Rachel who proposes that the Boulder Office of County Commissioners only purchase from companies that have a Zero Waste plan. "Corporations only tend to listen when it hurts their pocketbooks. If this is only way they can do business with government entities like the BOCC then they will have to change," said Rachel. Such buying concepts are known as "Preferential Purchasing" and have included provisions to only buy from women or minority owned businesses. "Government can have an enormous impact by only buying from green companies and I think it would be a wonderful if the BOCC adopted this right here in Boulder County," said Lombardi of Eco-Cycle.

Zero Waste calls on companies and municipalities to design goods and services for recycling and waste avoidance to make it easier on people to practice the "reduce, reuse, recycle" paradigm. The concept has resonated well with many Boulder citizens. For example, one contest entrant said "Zero Waste is the most important legacy we can give our children" while another said "we as individuals can and must become more involved in applying pressure on politicians and manufacturers to participate."

A team of Eco-Cycle Zero Waste experts chose the two winners from 230 contest entries. Names of the winners were withheld from the judges until after the ideas were chosen. Ideas were judged based on practicality, environmental preservation and how well the idea addressed a need in Boulder County. The contest was launched during Eco-Cycle's county-wide Earth Day celebrations in April.

###