No one denies that the volume of unwanted electronic scrap is growing. Gadgets improve lives around the world. They don't work forever. But they often have more than one life.
Display devices (more than half of all the e-Scrap) are like used automobiles. The average life of an automobile (15k miles per year, 200k miles per car) is about 13 years... some last longer, some shorter. But the average first ownership of cars is less than 50 months, or about 4 years.
Some people (with means) like to buy new cars every 3-5 years. Same goes for television and video displays. Just as the cars roll around for twice the number of years they were used by the first owner, there's a secondary market for TVs, PCs, and their display devices.
How can a do-gooder create a $3M non-profit out of the used appliance (or used car) market? Two parts White Guilt, one part Exotic Locale Photos, one Fake Statistic. Print millions, move on.
For more, visit 2010 "Top Ten Myths of #ewastegate"
1. Create a fake 'e-waste' news crisis
Tell all the environmentalists that you have a "dirty little secret"... that most of the electronic material they have brought in to recycling centers didn't really get recycled in the USA, or at all. CBS 60 Minutes, PBS Frontline, NPR, USA Today, BusinessWeek, BBC will come running to you with the microphone. You are marketing a believable message to people who are already "activated" on the topic (already making the effort to bring old gear for recycling).
This is key, you aren't trying to convince people to care, you are taking people who already care and convincing them of a scandal. For example:
Display devices (more than half of all the e-Scrap) are like used automobiles. The average life of an automobile (15k miles per year, 200k miles per car) is about 13 years... some last longer, some shorter. But the average first ownership of cars is less than 50 months, or about 4 years.
Some people (with means) like to buy new cars every 3-5 years. Same goes for television and video displays. Just as the cars roll around for twice the number of years they were used by the first owner, there's a secondary market for TVs, PCs, and their display devices.
How can a do-gooder create a $3M non-profit out of the used appliance (or used car) market? Two parts White Guilt, one part Exotic Locale Photos, one Fake Statistic. Print millions, move on.
For more, visit 2010 "Top Ten Myths of #ewastegate"
1. Create a fake 'e-waste' news crisis
Tell all the environmentalists that you have a "dirty little secret"... that most of the electronic material they have brought in to recycling centers didn't really get recycled in the USA, or at all. CBS 60 Minutes, PBS Frontline, NPR, USA Today, BusinessWeek, BBC will come running to you with the microphone. You are marketing a believable message to people who are already "activated" on the topic (already making the effort to bring old gear for recycling).
This is key, you aren't trying to convince people to care, you are taking people who already care and convincing them of a scandal. For example:
