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rvvtr r l7irj iiittiii trfir tt trr rz rtt fi i 4 t rj cvi c v economist stsunmbutk the environment thursdydec2826oo 5ar 3 fioill electronic recycling company melts smredscompacts and mulches our outofdate computer systems to the size quarter- v j4firsif uv5 by patrick casey staff writer computer smashed into a bag of bits the size of guitar picks confused probably yet you wouldnt be for long after witnessing a 10mili6n automated operation in mississauga in full swing a process helping to eradicate a global crisis of bbsoletecomputers and electronic equipment in the united states alone 45 million computer systems are collecting dust in storage rooms basements and crawl- spaces with the figure expected to leap to 230 millicm in just three years i however electronic product recovery services inc has taken a bold step forward and constructed a 50000- squarefoot facility that shreds granu- lates compacts and mulches electronic hardware mto reusable materials operating since august the plant can process as much as 24000 tonnes of- goods each year with 100 per cent of the material recycled 5 and thafs a critical statistic consider- irig regions across greater toronto face difficult disposal issues because of limit- ed landfill capacity v disposing technology mississauga company wants york regions business itwe just keep feeding it because it always stays hungry epr president bill porter explained during a tour of the elaborate operation j the local regions are wild about us becmiseoftheprogkunwehavesetup there are hazardous materials in computers that will leach into the ground if they are- dumped in landfills companies have computers jammed in catacombs because they dont know what to do with them and its only going to get worse everybody has a desktop model but now they also have laptops and palm pilots the systems are smaller but they have more units inside 1 we are here for the long haul and are looking for more material to recycle porter added we cant get enough prod- iict right now j with scores of photocopiers piled into onecomer of the plant arid keyboards processors and fax machines in another its obvious eprhastapped into a vital ruche r v epr is a subsidiary of industrial ecology corp resident jim buckler chief financial officer of the parent company and the mississauga racihty is a thirdgeneration model pat terned after a similar yet less automat- ed prototype in england f with tipping fees of 150 to 200 per tonne material is first compacted and shredded before it is transferred to a sec- ond 500horsepowershreddef and a granulator that reduces theproduct to- 34inchsize i i a series of magnets and electrical cur- rents separate the metalsand plasties before being sent offsite to smelters and steel mills to be manufactured into new material- v the plant can process as much as 24000 tonnes of goods each year inthe united states alone 45 million computer systems are collecting dust in storage rooms basements and crawlspaces in 60 minutes electronic recovery services can process more than 300 personal computers or three tonnes of mainframe equipment there are hazardous materials in computers that will leach into the ground if dumped in r landfills j the mississauga facility isa thirdgeneration model patterned after a similar yet less automated prototype in england epr does not accept tvs or computerlmonitors as the glass damages the shredder blades and the units contain hazardous materials in 60 minutes the firm can process more than 300 personal computers of three tonnes of mainframe equipment for now epr does riot accepttvs or computer monitors as the glass damages the shredder blades and the units contain hazardous materials to be quite honest many of our cus tomers dont give a damn about the recy cling aspect they just dont want the earts returned to the marketplace ecause of warranty purposes porter said adding another 20 north american facilities are planned weve had discussions with the rcmp who are recommending they use our service customers are trying to get a certification of secured destruction according to porter epr has already signed contracts with computer firms such as compaq canada dell corp and- ibm canada to dispose of aging prod- ucts school boards regions and munici palities have also come on board while epr spokesperson sid morris said the company has opened discussions with york region in the hopes of arranging a similar program- in june york regional council agreed to begin leasing its computer systems on a threeyear contract eliminating the need to dispose of outofdate machines although older computers are shipped to municipalities and school boards for possible use before they are declared surplus finance commissioner sandra cartwright and regional chairper- son bill fisch 66thsaidthe disposal of outdated machinery has become a serf- ous problem- compared to smaller operations that simply shred the material withno prod uct separation the epr system is advanced and porter said its a far cry from the singleperson operation where techni cians strip a computer down a piece at a time there are still guys out there who will eick them apart and separate the circuit oards he said but the value of the material inside is getting less and jess since the circuitry is lighter and smaller manually youjust cant keep up with them anymore this is the way of the future- j staff photomike barrett- electronic product recovery services president bill porter demonstrates how old computers are recycled into 34inch pieces at the mississauga plant the company shreds granulates compacts and mulches the parts into reusable materials stateoftheart processing technology eprs automated process includes feed preparation electronic hardware is received in trucks and placed in a holding area sorted and dismantled large items are separated and processed separately size reduction equipment is fed on a conveyor or bintipper and emptied into a series of shredders and graniilators that reduce material to a maximum size of 34incrfdust and smaller pieces are collected separately for further processing material separation ferrous material is separated magneti cally while nonferrous materials aluminum brass copper and plastic are separated through electrostatic and sandflo sepa rators plastics are further granulated and separated to remove circuit wire and recover copper recycled goods material is separated into five clean streams and recycled mild and stainless steel is used by minimills for making new steel products and materials aluminum is resmelted melted fused and broken down for new aluminum and alloy metals copper brass and zinc are resmelted for new copper and alloy v mixed plastics are used in plastic lumber noise panels and- insulation products or recycled as a source of energy v precious metals from small particles such as dusts are smelted and refined offsite to recover trace amounts of gold silver plat- inum and palladium size doesnt maner electronic product recovery can process a wide range of equipment including personal computers including key- boards mouse minicomputers and components mainframe computers and compo nents printers scanners drives and modems motor control centres navigation and control equipment telecommunications equipment switchgear switches and relays instructions and controls electronic thermostats recorders meters electronic relaysahd contactors military hardware navigation con trol aerospace telephones mobilecellular and hardwire i electronic pagers fax machines electronic medical equipment diagnostic and monitoring photocopiers and printing equip- rnent- v electronic calculators- radio and stereo equipment electronic cash registers electronic games and video game consoles digital cameras vcrs automobile computer modules software floppy disks and cds some equipment is not desired electric typewnters electric and manual calculators televisions and monitors conventional cameras large appliances arid white goods stoves ovens refrigerators electric hand tools power tools and equipment electric relays and motors fine furniture starts wednesday dec 27th 4747 hwy 7 east of kennedy markham 905 4775524 vvv 7 f 1 v tk i-