The increased use of electronics has added to an already growing solid waste problem that has inspired the creation of electronic recycling programs; however not all people in the Mission District are aware of these services.<\/p>\n
Electronic waste, or e-waste, is \u201cconsumer and business electronic equipment that is near or at the end of its useful life,\u201d according to CalRecycle, the state\u2019s leading authority on recycling and waste reduction. Electronic recycling, which is the processing of electronics for reuse, combats health risks and environmental pollution.
\nWhen electronics are dumped into the environment, the heavy metals they contain can release toxins that contaminate water, soil, and air. Exposure to these toxins can often lead to birth defects, brain damage and kidney damage.<\/p>\n
Local environmentally friendly recycling centers, such as Green Citizen on Howard Street and Best Buy on Harrison Street, provide a means of recycling for electronics that are no longer used, wanted or needed.<\/p>\n
Electronic Recycling<\/strong> Green Citizen utilizes a team of experienced technicians to determine if items can be recycled, resold or deconstructed and used to repair other electronics. Community residents interviewed along 24th Street and Mission Street said that they would only buy electronics when necessary. But younger generations often ask for the newest and latest electronic items, according to Mission residents Eva Ibarra and Josefina Magdalno.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are always asking me for something, but I don\u2019t buy it,\u201d Ibarra said, referring to her children.<\/p>\n The majority of people interviewed, were of all age groups and genders. They expressed the importance of electronic recycling and their desire to recycle, yet they believe that there was a lack of awareness in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more commercials and a lot more programs,\u201d Victor Santana said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to our advancement and future progress.\u201d<\/p>\n In order to increase the number of e-recyclers, Best Buy offers a trade in program where customers can exchange their items for gift cards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy and convenient for the customer to come in,\u201d Multi-Channel Sales Manager Jeanette Ruspil said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trade in program is something that we combined with the recycling. Let\u2019s say you have an iPhone in your pocket, you could trade it in and it would be worth something. \u2026It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s working or not,\u201d Ruspil said. \u201cIf it cannot be traded in then it can be recycled.\u201d<\/p>\n The services offered by Green Citizen and Best Buy will allow e-recyclers to feel that they are doing their part to help the environment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re taking responsibility for what we\u2019re doing. If we\u2019re using [electronics] then we should have ways of dealing with [them] here,\u201d Kurlancheek said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The increased use of electronics has added to an already growing solid waste problem that has inspired the creation of electronic recycling programs; however not all people in the Mission District are aware of these services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1809,1812,1811,1810],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-16471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-calrecycle","tag-e-waste","tag-electronic-recycling","tag-green-citizen","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cWhen you take some of the parts from a first generation iPod and see that they get recycled \u2026 those same parts can then be used in the next iPod so that you have this continuity,\u201d Green Citizen Manager Westin Kurlancheek said.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI know that I\u2019m recycling this [electronic device] and it\u2019s going to go towards the building of a new product,\u201d Kurlancheek said.<\/p>\n