Transparency Matters

We were inspired by Apple Inc. when, as part of their effort for greater transparency, they listed their “Supplier Responsibility Report”.  This report was released as a result of recent negative media regarding their main supplier’s worker conditions (you can read it here).  The report is a a fascinating and insightful look into the company’s global culture.  It spans such diverse topics as COC’s, Auditing, Education and Development and, most interestingly, Supplier Responsibility Reports.  We applaud Apple for providing these reports and actually putting themselves “out there”.  While Apple is by no means a perfect company, the publishing of these documents demonstrates that they are serious about openness and corporate responsibility.

Transparency at 4^th Bin

When it comes to openness and corporate responsibility, we feel very much the same way as Apple.  Our customers SHOULD KNOW who 4th Bin contracts and the vendors who ultimately handle their e-waste are after it leaves their home or office.  Granted, 4th Bin isn’t even in the same stratosphere of economic activity as Apple (other than Google, Facebook and the large banks, who is?).  But Apple is setting a good example and, obviously, we share the same belief that transparency is necessary.

Transparency in the E-waste Industry

We can say with full confidence that our competitors will not be so transparent.  We call it “selective transparency”, at the very least.   If you ask most companies  who collect e-waste in NYC (whether it is direct door-to-door, mail back, retail drop-off point or e-waste event) to fully disclose their downstream (industry-speak for where their stuff really goes…), we guarantee they will not do so.  Or disclose what their main business really is, they will not.  For example many companies now pose as legitimate e-waste collectors and recyclers, but are actually a regional scrap company.  Sure…you’ll get some answers.  And some of those answers will sound great.  But it may not be the complete answer.  And what they’re leaving out is the concerning part .

Our List

So, with that, we would like to list all 4th Bin vendors and partners (we have no suppliers per se) and their locations and industry.

Apple Inc.- Technology
Cupertino, CA
Avenue X Group- IT Consulting
New York, NY
AW Systems- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Broadway Green Alliance- Facilities Consultants
New York, NY
Caster Communications- Public Relations
Wakefield, RI
Call 2 Recycle- Battery Recycling
Atlanta, GA
CC Rentals-Trucking
New York, NY, NJ
Control Group Inc.- IT Management, Application Development
New York, NY
Crexendo Inc.- SEO Consulting
Tempe, AZ
Cumulus Global- Cloud Computing, Google Apps Consultants
Westborough, MA
Cyber City Inc.- IT Consulting
New York, NY
City Iron- Metal Management
New York, NY
ExchangeMyPhone- Mobile Phone Recycling
Brooklyn, NY
Facebook Inc.- Software
Palo Alto, CA
Google Inc.- Technology
Mountain View, CA
Help With a Smile- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Ivan Experts- Apple Consultants
New York, NY
Manhattan Mini Storage-Storage
New York, NY
Marathon-, IT Consulting
Brooklyn, NY
Macktez- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Microsoft Inc. - Technology
Redmond, WA
Mouse and Men- IT Consulting
New York, NY
NETtech- IT Repair and Sales
New York, NY
POINT- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Ramp Up Technology- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Salesforce Inc.- CRM Cloud Computing
San Francisco, CA
Sinu- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Starlight Media- IT Consulting
New York, NY
Sprint PCS- Telecommunications
Overland Park, KS
Square- Technology
San Francisco, CA
Twitter Inc.- Technology
San Francisco, CA
Uhaul Inc.-Trucking
New York, NY
Valiant Technology- IT Consulting, Application Development
New York, NY
Vertical Response- Software
San Francisco, CA
WeRecycle! - E-Steward Electronic Recyclers
Mount Vernon, NY 

In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of our competitors tell customers that, as of Jan 1, it’s “illegal” to throw out your e-waste.  It must be properly recycled (with them) or you will be fined.  The problem I have with this marketing tactic is that it’s misleading.

I fully support the legislation.  It’s a great start and has done a tremendous amount to raise awareness of the issues central to e-waste.  But the issues I’m going to bring up refer specifically to NYC, how we’re impacted and how certain things can be misleading.  For a good, quick summary/opinion of the legislation, check out Kate Sinding’s (of NRDC) blog post on the topic.  We’re an NYC company.  We live, work and operate in NYC.  As a result, we’re finely tuned to NYC’s specific needs.

So how are you being misled?

To begin with, the legislation started on April 1, 2010 and the only requirements are that electronics manufacturers (Apple, Sony, Dell, etc) are required to cover some costs for collecting and recycling e-waste in the state.  They do this through traditional e-waste collection methods – various drop-offs points and collection events.  No mention of a solution to the transportation and convenience issues NYC’ers face.

The next milestone was January 1, 2012 when the first part of the disposal ban kicked in.  This is what everyone is now referring to.  But the problem is that it only applies to businesses in NYC – individuals and households are not part of this (that happens on Jan 1, 2015).  So why is pushing this message misleading the consumer?  Because most Manhattan-based businesses aren’t impacted by this.  They don’t handle their own trash.  It’s handled by building management – who are affected by the law.  And they have their own relationships – more often than not with trucking/hauling, scrap or waste  management companies.  Definitely not with companies who understand the specific issues and needs of e-waste.

The legislation does not mention any standards of recycling other than saying that  items can’t end up in a solid waste or hazardous waste facility.  Great!  No landfill or incineration!  But feel free to arbitrarily throw the items (with the lead, copper, mercury, cadmium, etc) in a shredder to get to those precious raw materials.  It also doesn’t put any restrictions on exporting items so go ahead and sell to third world countries. Make your money on the export and let the company overseas do what they want with the items – standards need not apply.

In using our competitors, you may be compliant with the law but are you certain they’re handling your items in the way you want?  The flashy website, the words “recycling” on the truck and the personal guarantees are all nice but it may be smoke and mirrors.  What you need to know is who runs the company, where the items go after collection, how and where they’re processed and who their partners are.  Does the company or their partners have any kind of certification to support the standards they claim? Most of this information can be found on the company’s website and won’t take you more than a few minutes to figure out.

Do you want to follow the letter of the law or do you want to do the right thing?

-md

We pride ourselves on the fact that 4th Bin are technologists and believe our use of current technology is contributing to the “cleaning up” of waste management. So we want to share a little bit about how we work – from a technology perspective.

4th Bin is made possible by companies like Google, Salesforce.com, Sprint, Apple Inc. GoDaddy and Microsoft. The combination of these technologies help us accurately track inventory from the first the initial client request, through the logistics stream, ending with our processor WeRecycle!. These technologies are also instrumental in giving us the ability to comply with state laws as they relate to e-waste collection.

We use a wide variety of Google Apps in support of our business.  Google Docs allows us to provide real time intake reports which can be shared with clients for their internal and external purposes. The Android platform, along with Google maps, are the preferred tools by the rescue teams for everything from GPS mapping capabilities to gathering information on specific buildings. Google Voice provides our office numbers and voicemail.  Analytics and Google Ads help drive marketing and sales.

Salesforce.com is our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.  It is an invaluable tool that allows us to gather our client’s information and keep track of milestones as they happen through the process (conversation with clients, scheduling, pickup confirmation, inventory, weights collected).  It also integrates a variety of other technologies that make the entire pickup process much more efficient.

Sprint is the data network we prefer – period. It has a robust and affordable voice and data plan which allows to always be connected.  This lets us track all of the pickup and trucking logistics in real time. Through the Sprint network, real data of what was picked up, and how much, can be tracked with complete accuracy.

Last but not least – Microsoft.  Microsoft is often bashed for its all too public struggles but is still very much a key player in software development. Its Sharepoint product is a great tool for organizing data into one centralized location for internal collaboration purposes.  And it’s mail platform, Exchange, is the corporate gold standard in email.  Both platforms are outsourced and hosted on GoDaddy’s network.

A number of other companies provide much needed services.  Idrive provides data backups.  M5 provides our phone lines.  In addition to Sharepoint and Exchange, GoDaddy hosts our website.  Vertical Response provides our email marketing services.  Fax.com provides our fax capabilities.

So why did I tell you all of this?  And how does it contribute to “cleaning up”.  With the exception of our laptops, mobile devices and a couple of printers, we own no other equipment.  No servers, no routers, no firewalls, no backup devices, no fax machines.  All of our back-end services are cloud based.  We are proud to say that we are minimal e-waste generators (even our laptops are “refurbished” for reuse).   We compare it to taking mass transit instead of driving in to the office.  We truly stand behind our words when we say that we’re the most ethical solution for e-waste.

~John Kirsch