Recycling Electronics and Raising Money for Phoenix Children’s Hospital Valley Residents and companies are asked to donate unwanted electronics on Sat. March 19th.

Do you have an old keyboard or broken computer monitor in the garage or taking up space in your office? MacMedia, Inc., in partnership with Westech Recyclers, will be accepting old electronic device donations from the public on Saturday, March 19th, 2011 – 9am to 5pm. “Go Green” provides a proper and safe
way to dispose of your old, unwanted and outdated electronics.

Based on the total weight of the donated items, 5¢ per pound will be donated to Phoenix Children’s Hospital from MacMedia & Westech Recyclers. The goal is to collect 100,000 pounds of equipment. Businesses interested in pledging a matching gift of $.01 – $.10 per pound are encouraged to contact Brian Georges, bgeorges@macmediainc.com for more details.

To participate, bring scrap electronic goods to either the Scottsdale or Peoria locations and MacMedia, Inc. will reward your efforts with:
• Tax donation vouchers for usable equipment donated
• 5¢ donation for every pound of “scrap” collected to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital
• Food and drink provided by MacMedia
• Door prizes and One Day Discounts
• The first 250 people will receive 2 tickets to a spring training game at Camelback Ranch

Both working and non-functional unwanted electronics that can be donated include:

• Electronics
• Cell phones
• Computer Monitors
• Printers

Items can be donated at both MacMedia Retail locations:
• 6928 E. 5th Ave. #1, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (North End Parking Lot)
• 15525 N. 83rd Ave. Suite #108 Peoria, AZ 85382 (Shopping Center Parking Lot)

About Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Phoenix Children’s Hospital is Arizona’s only licensed children’s hospital, providing world-class care in more than 40 pediatric specialties to children from throughout the state and region. Though Phoenix Children’s is one of the ten largest freestanding children’s hospitals in the country, it is in the midst of a major expansion to meet the needs of the Southwest’s rapid population growth. The signature element of the expansion is a new 11-story, 750,000-square-foot tower which will enable the hospital to grow from 345 licensed beds today to a total of 626 licensed beds once the project is complete. The hospital’s expansion also includes an aggressive physician recruitment effort and new satellite centers in high growth areas of the Valley. For more information, visit the hospital’s web site at www.phoenixchildrens.com.

Avondale residents looking for ways to make their homes more energy efficient can take advantage of an energy efficiency rebate program offered by the city.  Avondale received $706,600 from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  Nearly $150,000 has been set aside for energy efficiency and conservation incentives and residential electric rebates. Rebate funds are still available to residents, until funds run out.
Announced in October 2010, the incentives are available on a first come, first serve basis. Avondale incentives to customers are in addition to utility incentives of APS and SRP.  They are calculated on the net cost to the customer after all other rebates at 90% up to a maximum amount.

Available Energy Rebate Programs are:
•High-Efficiency Central Air Conditioner Rebate  – This is a $350 rebate from the City of Avondale. Residents qualify if they meet the federal government’s standard for awarding tax credits for AC retrofits.
•HVAC Duct Testing and Repair Rebate – Duct Testing maximum rebate from the City of Avondale is $50.  Duct Repairs maximum rebate from the City of Avondale is $100.
•Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Rebate – The City of Avondale will incentivize the home energy audit (maximum $50), duct sealing (maximum $100), air sealing (maximum $200), insulation improvements (maximum $150), and shade screens (maximum $150).

For complete eligibility guidelines, and applications on all energy rebate programs available to residents, visit www.avondale.org/energyrebate  or call 623-333-1033.

You can also learn more about the rebate program in person by visiting the City of Avondale booth at EcoAvenues on Saturday, March 26.

EcoAvenues, a free event that showcases the environmentally friendly products, services, education and activities from businesses and organizations throughout the valley. A one stop event allowing residents to access info and resources to help live a more sustainable life, and heighten your awareness of what it means to be ‘Green’.

EcoAvenues Event
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2011
Time: 9 a.m. to 2p.m
Location: Estrella Mountain Community College, 3000 N. Dysart Road (northwest corner of Dysart and Thomas roads), Avondale, Arizona 85323
Cost: Free admission.
www.ecoavenues.com

Brought to you by West Valley Magazine

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), three fourths of Americans have old computers and televisions stored in their garages or closets. Not surprising since these electronics are considered hazardous waste called ‘e-waste’ due to heavy metal content like lead, mercury, cadmium—and fire retardants and polluting PVC plastic shells. In 2007 alone, 68 million computers and 99 million televisions became obsolete. Sadly, only 18 percent of e-waste was recycled–the other 1.84 million pounds was disposed of primarily in landfills and incinerators.

While recycling 1.84 million tons of e-waste sounds better for the environment than doing nothing, a 2007 EPA report indicates an estimated 61 percent (107,500 tons) of CRT monitors and TVs collected were exported for remanufacture or refurbishment—most to third world countries who have the labor pools to disassemble these items for their steel, copper, lead, silver, gold, and glass. A cell phone, for example, is 19 percent copper and eight percent iron. Countries like China, Africa, India, and Pakistan can process e-waste for ten times less—even after shipping costs from the United States. The fact that their countries have inadequate laws to protect their workers finds children burning piles of wiring for the copper in Africa, and workers in China & Pakistan heating motherboards over small stoves to melt the solder welds and recover wanted materials. What is not wanted is simply dumped. This is not an acceptable way for Americans to dispose of their hazardous waste.

So while the Senate and House are only now considering funding of research studies for solutions, what can a responsible family do with increasing collection of unwanted electronic products that will not create more problems for the environment later? One answer is to donate your items to a company committed to workplace and environmental safety with none of the e-waste exported and no environmentally sensitive materials being sent to a landfill. If they agree to third-party oversight of their processes, all the better.

In 2004, Dell and Goodwill Industries started the Reconnect program in Austin, Texas. They have since kept 96 million pounds of e-waste out of landfills and from being exported. With more than 1,900 stores nationwide, dropping your e-waste off at a Goodwill Store is certainly convenient. Since its inception, the Reconnect program has created more than 250 green jobs with Goodwill employees managing responsible computer disassembly and disposal. As the perfect model for reduce-reuse-recycle, Goodwill stores use monies earned from recycling e-waste to provide job training, employment placement services and other community based programs for people with disabilities, lack of education, or job experience, and to those who face employment challenges.

On April 17, EcoAvenues, a free event on the Estrella Mountain Community College campus that showcases the environmentally friendly products, services, education and activities from businesses and organizations throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area, will have a Goodwill truck for e-waste collection from 8am to 1pm. Clear out your closets and garage—and get information on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Goodwill Industries will collect all your e-waste and accept regular donations that day.

By Susan Staal

The cities of Avondale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park and Tolleson, the Town of Buckeye, the Southwest Valley and Buckeye Valley Chambers as well as Estrella Mountain Community College and other business partners have come together to create ECO Avenues. ECO Avenues is an event that showcases the environmentally friendly products, services, education and activities from businesses and organizations. The event will arm the attendee with lots of information and resources to help them take action to live a more sustainable life and heighten their awareness of green jobs, products and programs. ECO Avenues will showcase the economic and environmental benefits of living green.

EVENT DETAILS:

When: Saturday, April 17, 2010, 8AM-1PM

Where: Estrella Mountain Community College
3000 N. Dysart Road (NWC Dysart & Thomas Roads), Avondale

Attendance: 2500 projected

Landis Elliott, Event Manager

ECO Avenues – Living the green life…Southwest Valley Style
C: 623.308.0722
F: 623.932.9057 (attn: EcoAve)
www.ecoavenues.com

As the economy recovers, high gasoline prices are likely to return with a vengeance.  High gasoline prices can make commuters feel helpless.  But don’t despair.  Help is on the way.
Help for high gasoline prices came through Phoenix on December 18 in the form of a sleek, fast sports car, the Tesla Roadster.  The Tesla has no gas tank.  Instead it has a lithium ion battery and an electric motor.  That’s right!  The Tesla is all-electric with an EPA range of 244 miles.  Tesla is driving the Roadster from Los Angeles to the Detroit Auto Show to prove that charging facilities already exist for electric cars.
Even at 244 miles, range causes a lot of anxiety for potential buyers.  But again, help is on the way.  A Scottsdale company, Ecotality Inc., has a Stimulus funded $99.8 million contract to install 12,800 charging stations in AZ, CA, WA, OR and TN.
If charging stations are being installed, can all electric and plug in hybrids be far behind?  All major carmakers have plans to introduce all electric cars by 2012.  These cars will be highway capable cars with few, if any, compromises compared to gasoline cars.  Better batteries and more charging stations are leading the inevitable change from fossil fuel powered cars to all electrics.  Could we be seeing the revenge of the electric car?