Zilker Ventures Promotes Recycling of Fax Machines and Other E-waste
(PRLEAP.COM) Austin, TX July 18, 2008 – Zilker Ventures has proclaimed the death of the fax machine and promoted Internet fax as a more cost-efficient alternative to traditional fax communications. Now inspired by recent e-waste recycling efforts of Dell and other major companies, the company wants to ensure that offices everywhere don’t just bury their departed, but rather, dispose of fax machines properly.Almost four years ago, Singapore-based Citiraya Industries, Ltd. opened one of their first American e-waste processing facilities in Rock Rock, Texas. Since then, however, e-waste recycling has been very much under the radar, even for Austinites.
"That fax machine doesn’t actually work, but we don’t really have space to put it elsewhere," said CEO of Zilker Ventures, Gaines Kilpatrick, pointing to one of two fax machines sitting in his office, a pre-Internet fax relic.
Many people find themselves in similar situations after their electronics break down or become obsolete and often store unused electronics in their homes or offices. Some simply throw these electronics in the garbage.
"I have an old computer in my house that I don’t use, but I haven’t given it away or recycled it because there are still files stored on it [that I don’t want others to access]," says Koby Wong, a student at the University of Texas.
The electronics that do get recycled are usually sent abroad where workers are paid low wages to strip recyclable materials from unrecyclable, hazardous toxins, according to a special e-waste report done by USA Today.
Thanks to one of the most successful movies this summer, Disney-Pixar film Wall-E, more people are learning about electronic waste. The movie tells the story of a young robot that is left alone to clean up the electronic waste engulfing the planet. Replace that robot with an underprivileged Indian or Chinese boy living, not in the distant future, but here in 2008, and the movie will hit a bit closer to home.
Why aren’t more people doing anything about the problem? "I know I should recycle [electronics], I guess I just don’t know how to properly dispose of them," says Wong.
What should one do with static e-waste at home or in the office? Send it back to the brand or to resellers for possible refurbishment, or take it to a certified recycler. Make sure that voluntary e-waste recycle programs are certified and do not actually continue to send the waste to developing nations.
Though recycling e-waste in many communities remains largely unorganized, businesses that offer virtual services, which eliminate hardware, have found ways to reduce e-waste.
"The easiest, most cost-effective thing to do is to stop buying new electronics when possible, advises Gaines Kilpatrick. "Telecommunications is a good place to start: Don’t buy new fax machines or phones, and use Internet fax and virtual private branch exchange (PBX) services. From a business standpoint, it’s cheaper; from an environmental standpoint, it’s the right thing to do."
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Contact:
Jennifer Silva
Zilker Ventures, LLC
(512) 448-9031
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