Blue Star Recyclers staffer Jack Ryan, left, dismantles a computer tower Tuesday at the facility in Denver. CEO Bill Morris says the nonprofit probably has more employees than any other e-waste company. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)
It’s difficult not to just hand money over to Blue Star Recyclers in Denver. The non-profit opened its doors in February to become the second recycling center for the Colorado Springs-based company.
The business, which has the highest , must charge fees to accept some of your e-waste — $1/pound for batteries, $0.49/pound for bulky CRT TVs and monitors and $0.29 for general e-waste. It accepts computers and cellphones for free.
Where to find old iMacs — tossed out and hoping to be recycled responsibly.
But it’s the people who work there that win your heart. Blue Star’s mission is to create jobs and hire people with difference abilities — mainly those who have Autism. Founder Bill Morris said that when he previously worked with disabled people, he noticed a group with Autism in the back corner taking apart computers. They had phenomenal concentration and thrived on repetitive tasks.
In fact, during a visit to the Denver facility at 953 Decatur Street to research today’s Earthday story on e-waste recycling (see “,” I met Ian Sabar who was concentrating so heavily on dismantling an old desktop computer, he didn’t notice me. He jumped when he finally did. Then he went back to work, without saying a word.
Philip Martinez, however, had something to say: “It is important (to recycle responsibly), there is no doubt,” he said, while continuing to use an electric screwdriver to undo dozens of screws. “But at the same time, I’ll see something that could still be useful, that could be used for something.”
The hope is that Martinez will soon help Blue Star refurbish old PCs into working machines. The plan is to sell them to folks in the neighborhood for a few dozen dollars.
If you take your e-waste to Blue Star, the company voluntarily pledged to make sure none of it ends up polluting another country. It’s e-Stewards certified, which means that it paid $25,000 for the certification and it must prove that e-waste collected doesn’t leave the continent unless it’s ready to be reused in manufacturing.
If you spot this logo, know that the company is supposed to make sure no e-waste ends up in China.
And the , which is the organization that doles out e-Stewards certifications, says it audits the companies annually and makes unannounced visits to check operations. BAN was the group that tipped , when it followed the trail of a Denver recycler to a town in China and found mass pollution and seven out of 10 children with high levels of lead in their blood.
Colorado offers a list of certified e-waste recyclers . But not all are certified as e-Stewards or the alternative R2, which is less strict but still worthy.
Here are the certified e-waste recyclers in Colorado:
