File 13 News

"Doin' the right thing & 

     While I was in Cheyenne, I had the opportunity to work with the talented and professional Tatooine crew as we completed a job for Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power, a part of the Black Hills Corporation. Jeff and his tight-knit team pulled four ancient power transformers from a live power substation in downtown Cheyenne, while I acted as team photographer, and shared the three teams responsibility to observe and immediately communicate anything that may be or could become a concern during the operation. Weighing between 12,000 & 18,000 lbs each, standing at between 9 & 10 feet tall and 5 or 6 feet across, these big old units showed patent dates of 1905 to 1919, and after a long and productive life, were definitely ready for recycling. From the dismantling of the high barbed-wire fence, the grading of the ground surface with crushed granite for the cranes and trucks, the guiding & setup of the gigantic crane & low-boy flatbed semi, the actual hookup, pulling and transport of these monsters to Tatooine, the reassembly of the fence & completion of security measures to the satisfaction of the client, the job took less than a full days work all told. From start to completetion, I was thoroughly impressed with Jeffs planning and everyones flawless execution of this delicate and hazardous job. In a live power substation environment, one wrong move can cause a blackout, destroy massively expensive equipment, and result in loss of human life. It was unmistakeably clear that safety for all concerned was absolutely paramount. 

Savings over the previous service providers quote for the same job? Thousands.

     The hands-on line supervisor, crew, and officials from Cheyenne Light and Black Hills were impressed with the way the razor sharp crane & truck teams from CH Yarber of Cheyenne and the alert, communicative team from Tatooine performed this challenging job in a calm and professional manner.  It was a tremendous pleasure to be part of an operation like this, and to work with so many professionals at once. File 13 is proud to offer this service through Tatooine, and utilities can be confident that the Tatooine crew will do the same level of work here in Wisconsin, or wherever they are needed. From cell phones to substations, File 13 and Tatooine have you covered. Contact File 13 for details, or contact Jeff Stumpf at Tatooine directly at 307-638-2392.

Tell him Ed from File 13 sent you. 

 Jeff Stumpf - Gettin' the Job Done Right!

 High-Stakes Crane Operation by CH Yarber 

" ... well that's where electronics come from!"

06/25/07

     I had an interesting phone call this month. A local scrapper/recycler called asking if we wanted to contract with them for E-Waste recycling. I said "sure, we'd love to take care of your E-Waste." The salesperson said "No, we want to take your E-Waste." I informed them that we are already under exclusive contract to the only specifically permitted electronics recycler in the country, Tatooine Electronics, and are very pleased with our relationship with them.

     Then the conversation got interesting. "Well, we send all our E-Waste to a facility in China." she said proudly. I wondered if she had read anything about our company, our beliefs, our mission, you know, anything! I asked "Did you read any of the copy on the web or in our ads? We're in business to prevent any electronics from being shipped to China, and we market ourselves as such. What's going on in China, in places like Guiyu, is abhorant to us." She replied, and I kid you not, "Well that's where all the electronics come from!" Hmmm, was that a justification? A leap of deductive reasoning? Or a steaming pile of bad smelling balderdash from someone who's only in it for the money . . . . "talk amongst yourselves."

      Sarah Westervelt is the Toxics Research Analyst for the Basel Action Network and is currently focusing exclusively on the electronic waste issue. She researched and co-authored the report "Exporting Harm, The High Tech Trashing of Asia", and assisted in the development of the film by the same name. In a recent email exchange, I told her about this ill-considered phone call. Sarah's reaction was;

“China needs clean commodities (pure copper, aluminum, etc.) to manufacture the world’s gadgets, not toxic waste.  In fact, it is illegal for them to accept this waste stream from the US, because China has ratified the Basel Convention, and the US has not.  And China has some additional domestic laws that ban the import of much electronics. They’re now setting up systems to try and stop this illegal traffic.”

       I've got that one on a sticky by the phone in case they call again.

Thanks for checking out our site, and have a great day!

Ed Abel

File 13 E-Waste Solutions, LLC

"Staples Joins the Cause!"

05/25/07    

      I read an interesting press release the other day announcing that Staples is now offering electronics recycling at their stores. It's encouraging to see the big players joining the cause. As I read the release, I got the impression that they'd take most of your electronics at no charge, stating that they only charge $10 for "Large Items". Wow, I thought. Ouch. Who pays for the processing? Staples? That'd be a pretty significant philanthropic gesture if it were the case. A call to my local Staples revealed that "Large" means your computer cpu, or your monitor, or your printer, your fax machine, your laptop . . . . $10 each. 

     That's actually a reasonable price, given the true cost of proper recycling, but it's still more than we usually charge here at File 13. Oh, and they don't offer pickup service at no extra charge like we do. That's right, we'll recycle your electronics for less money, and we'll come to your home or business and pick it up at no extra charge. At $3.40 a gallon and rising, who wants to make an extra trip these days? Plus, they don't take televisions or large copiers. You may have noticed that few places do. Televisions are very costly to recycle, as are large copiers, so most recyclers refuse to take them. Not File 13 - heck - we'll take any electronics we can get our hands on! I don't remember reading anything about how or where the E-Waste is processed, either. We feel very strongly that all this stuff needs to be diverted from our landfills and recycled responsibly and domestically.

     Ok, so File 13 has some clear advantages. That's our mission - to make it Easy and Affordable to Do the Right Thing. But hey, I applaud Staples for joining us in bringing the need for Responsible Electronics Recycling into the public eye. The more that people learn about the dangers of Electronic Waste, the more likely they'll be to recycle. If any other retailers, service companies, or any business, large or small, would like to have File 13 help them Do the Right Thing, and enjoy that "Green Halo" effect - call us! We can set up a simple and cost effective E-Waste Collection Program for your company, and save you, your employees and your customers some hard earned cash. And of course any private individual can call, email or visit us for their Electronics Recycling needs at any time. Be you a Big Kahuna or just a Regular Person, it makes no difference to us. We recycle electronics for everybody, every day. 

Thanks for visiting our site, and have a great day!

Ed Abel

File 13 E-Waste Solutions, LLC

Comic Archives

Click a title to view and save the comic. Feel free to print them & give them to your friends.

Spread the Word about E-Waste!

These are fairly large files and may load slowly, so be patient.

Water in Turmoil

Ad Gig for the Dogs

E-Dog & Ogie

Evil Thoughts - A Windows Nightmare

Earth Goes to the Big Box Store

**Conditions may apply outside local area depending on quantity vs distance - the more you have the further we'll go at no extra charge. 

You may be surprised how far we'll go to protect the environment. Call for details or to schedule a pickup!