Local firm finds
niche in e-recycling
By
John Bartlett Erie
Times
MEADVILLE —
Patrick Spang dreams about old computers and copiers, junked
televisions and radios and discarded cell phones.
There's plenty to dream about.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates 60 million old
computers will be thrown out this year. Televisions are not far
behind, and then there are all those other obsolete electronics up
for replacement.
Spang, president of Environmental Coordination Services and
Recycling, wants his firm to be at the forefront of changing those
equations by recycling those products.
"We are right on the leading edge of this," Spang said. "Companies
are starting to seek out recycling of their old electronics because
they don't want to contribute to the waste stream."
While current state regulations allow computers and other electronic
equipment to be disposed of in landfills, environmentalists insist
doing so is not the best solution.
The equipment not only takes up valuable landfill space, but
electronic equipment often contains dangerous heavy metals such as
lead, mercury, and other toxins, said Geoffrey Bristow, regional
manager of the state Department of Environmental Protection's Office
of Energy and Technology Development.
Spang's company, ECS&R, provides environmental consulting, planning,
remediation, waste management and related services. He formed the
company in 1989 after moving to Meadville.
"I started in the industry in New Jersey, but my wife's family is
originally from the Titusville-Franklin area," he said. "We came
back for a family reunion and decided to relocate here."
About five years ago the company added another service at its Route
19 location just south of Route 285: obtaining a permit to process
out-of-date packaged consumer products, such as soft drinks.
The unique recycling business was growing steadily, when a change in
state law about a year ago nearly brought it to a halt. The new law
required ECS&R to accept materials only from a permitted waste
hauler. The businesses using ECS&R had been transporting the
outdated materials themselves and could not become permitted waste
haulers, Spang said.
The loss of that business left a lot of empty space that Spang
thought could be used for recycling electronics. "We began to dabble
in disassembly and recycling of electronics," he said.
It seemed practical, so the company then took the big move, applying
for an e-waste handling and processing permit.
Spang said ECS&R was the first company in the state to seek the new
permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
but not the first to develop an electronic recycling business.
Envirocycle, a company based in Hallstead, Susquehanna County, has
been around for several years. It handled the materials collected
during an electronics recycling collection in Erie County in June.
However, electronics recycling will become a practical solution for
the disposal of old electronics only if it's done on a regional
basis, Spang said.
ECS&R serves the business communities throughout northwestern
Pennsylvania, as well as those in the greater Cleveland and Buffalo,
N.Y., areas.
The company has established a firm business base for its electronics
recycling, largely building on its existing clients and word of
mouth.
Most companies are looking for ways to properly discover of their
old computers, copiers, monitors, radios and other electronic
equipment, Spang said.
Practical residential and community service is more compact,
basically limited to northwestern Pennsylvania. To go farther
becomes impractical because of transportation handling and related
costs, Spang said.
"If we can get lower cost options for municipalities and local
organizations by having a regional center, we can get more
electronic recycling going on," Bristow said.
Getting individuals to recycle old consumer electronics is the big
challenge Spang said.
"The hard part is educating people, but you also have to make it
easy for them," he said.
To accomplish that, the firm hopes to set up electronic recycling
events with municipalities and community organizations, and perhaps
even regional drop-off locations, he said.
Crawford County Solid Waste Authority Executive Director Etienne
Ozorak said the problem of e-waste affects the whole country. "How
to get rid of old electronics is an issue ... on the horizon
nationwide. It's becoming a real problem, and there's no end in
sight," he said.
Spang wouldn't speculate on how much he expects his business to
grow.
"How big is this going to become, we can't answer that," Spang said.
However, he added, "We expect six-figure gross revenues this year."
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