Shortly after posting on the dead computer drop-off at the Buffalo Zoo, I received a phone call from Cassie Gruber, VP of Electronic Recycling Technologies (ERT), who wanted to give me a tour of the operation. She told me that after the BRO post went up she fielded a call from Green Business Quarterly, a magazine based out of Chicago that had seen the post online. The magazine is planning on running a feature on the Buffalo-based company this spring.
ERT (started in 2000) is a fast-growing recycling company that recently (October 2007) leased the first floor of the vacant 180,000 sq.' Wonder Bread facility on the city's East Side. It was there that I met up with Cassie and Michael Lodick (President) for a chat and a tour. The size of the facility is quite impressive. After disassembling the massive Wonder ovens on the first floor (sold as scrap), ERT set up a shop that facilitates a number of different operations. The company currently services 500 customers (schools, government, factories) in the general WNY area.
For a fee, ERT goes in and collects all of the unwanted electronics that otherwise sit around and take up valuable space. In general, these electronics have two different fates. If the electronic component is salvageable as a whole (without much labor or monetary investment) then it is given a new life (depending on whether it's completely outdated or not). If saving the machine is not worth it, then it is disassembled for scrap. Within a machine there are a number of different parts that are salvageable. Then, whatever remains is sold to plastic and metal processors.
As I looked around the ERT facility I noticed hundreds of boxes that were filled with computer mice, computer chips, mother boards, shells, hard drives, cathode rays, cords... each item found its way into a box... and each box will be sent off for processing. It's ERT's job to make sure that the electronics are re-assembled or disassembled depending on their respective value. ERT brings in 900 tons of material a year. Of that, 140 tons go on to the landfills. "People are really starting to understand the importance of recycling electronics," Cassie told me. "The Buffalo Zoo household pickup brought in five tractor trailer loads of electronics." I asked Cassie how she got her start at ERT and she said, "I was always fascinated with taking apart computers and reassembling them. One day I saw a cool ad for doing such a job part time. I responded to the ad and found myself pulling apart computers for some extra cash. I was so good at it and enjoyed it so much that within two years (and a lot of work) I was VP of the company."
Mike Lodick spent 20-years in the chemical waste business before he co-founded ERT. "We're looking to get into the processing end of the business next," he told me. "The scrapped materials are becoming more valuable, and if you think about TVs... well there are millions becoming obsolete as flat-screens go down in price. Some states are banning TVs from landfills. The glass in those sets is worth money. We have processing partners abroad that take the good tubes and recondition TVs for the African market. We have another processor in Montreal. In a smaller consumer market like Buffalo there might not be enough machines to allow us to grow... and that's why we are starting to invest in the machines that will allow us to process the materials ourselves. We've started taking shipments from Cleveland and NYC... and now we're looking at Rochester. We're bringing these electronics in by truck currently, but we're looking into rail as we expand. Buffalo offers a lot of opportunities for business. With the abandoned factories and the workforce... it's really a good market to take advantage of these things."
As ERT continues to grow, an abandoned East Side plant is seeing new life. It's great to see an operation not only taking advantage of the ever-growing recycling industry, but expanding services to handle other cities looking for recycling processing plants.
Photo 3: Cassie holds out two computer chips. One with salvageable gold... one with salvageable copper.
Bottom photo: With room to grow, Cassie has possible plans for turning one of the unused top floors into a multi-use cultural theatre and gallery dedicated to electronic media, recycled art and various workshops.
ERT is located at 313 Fougeron Street. An updated website will be unveiled shortly. For information on commercial and household drop-offs, visit the company's website.