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Event to focus
on osteoporosis
The North Carolina
Division of Public Health
will host an osteoporosis
workshop on Wednesday,
January 22, 2003 from 9 a.m.
until 2:30 p.m. at the Council
of Aging of Cleveland
County, 1266 Fallston Rd.,
Shelby.
Cost is $15 which includes
registration, materials and
lunch. Topics up for discus-
sion highlight the psychoso-
cial aspects of osteoporosis,
physical activity, medica-
tions and nutrition. In the
event of inclement weather,
the program will be held on
January 29, 2003.
For registration informa-
tion, call Emmie Whitley at
(919) 715-3339.
Gallery to present
photo competition
Art 1 Gallery and Instruc-
tional Center in Gastonia is
hosting Carolina Lens Art,
an open photography show
and competition now
through February 21, 2003.
The event is being held in
conjunction with the exhibi-
tion, 'Natural Roots,’ which
features photography by
Eustace Conway related to
the book, 'The Last Ameri-
can Man.
For more information, call
(704) 854-8800 or visit on-
line at www.artlgallery.com. :
;
Service to present :
beekeeping course:
The North Carolina
Cooperative Extension
Service in Gaston County
and the Gaston County i
Beekeepers Association will
sponsor a beekeeping class
beginning Monday, January :
27,2003. 3
The class will be held on
Mondays from 7 - 9 p.m. at:
the Gaston County Citizens, :
Resource Center in Dallas ~~:
and run through March 24,
2003. Cost is $15, which i
covers materials and refresh- :
ments. The class is ideal for
those interested in beekeep- :
ing as a hobby. i
Deadline to register is
January 17, 2003. For
information, call (704) 922-
2110.
Applicants wanted
for Gaston program
Gaston Community
Action, Inc. is accepting
applications for its 2003-2004
Head Start program, which
begins in August 2003.
Head Start is a health,
education and social services
program for three and four-
year-old children from low-
income families who are not
eligible for public kindergar-
ten in Gaston and Lincoln
counties. Eligible handi-
capped children between the
ages of 3-6 are also accepted
into the Head Start program.
Those interested in Gaston
County should call (704)
866-8721 and those in
Lincoln County should call
(704) 732-1216 for more
information.
College radio station
to host benefit concert
- The Gaston College radio
station, WSGE 91.7 FM, will
host a benefit concert
featuring local artists on
Sunday, January 19, 2003 at 2
p-m. at Puckett's Farm
Equipment, 2740 W. Sugar
Creek Rd., Charlotte.
The concert titled 'WSGE
Radio Bennie' will feature
some of the regions most
talented artists. Admission
is $5 and proceeds benefit
the station's programming
efforts.
"This benefit concert will
truly be a showcase of what
great music we have in our
area," said Jeff Powell,
station manager. "We are
delighted to have the music
community come together
like this to show their
support for what we are
trying to accomplish here at
the station."
For more information, call
(704) 922-6552.
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EYE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Program needed to keep electronics out of landfills
By STEVE WALL
Guest Columnist
Currently, there are almost
two million computers and
seven million televisions in
North Carolina homes with
countless more in businesses
across the state. Have you
ever wondered what hap-
pens to obsolete computers
and out-of-date television
sets? It’s in your health
interest to know the answer.
Yesterday's computers turn
into today’s electronic waste
and more is expected in the
next few years as the sales of
flat screen monitors and
digital televisions continue
to rise.
Many obsolete computer
monitors and old television
i sets are stored in closets and
i attics. Most are eventually
: destined for landfills.
i Therein lies the problem.
On average, each computer
monitor contains about four
: pounds of lead, while
: televisions contain about six
pounds of lead. As a result
of this high content of lead
i: and other heavy metals
: found in electronics, the
i dumping of monitors and
i televisions are contributing
i to an ever-increasing volume
of toxic metals in our
landfills. Unless we keep
toxics out of these landfills,
which have the potential to
leak and pollute surround-
i ing ground water, our
: drinking water supplies are
: atrisk.
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Public policy makers
across the nation are debat-
ing the issue of electronic
waste. Discussions under-
way on the national level
appear to be years away
from a solution. Conse-
quently, many states are
stepping up their own
efforts to address this
growing problem. In over a
dozen states, including
North Carolina, legislation
has been introduced to
address the problem of
electronics waste.
Earlier this year, a state
legislative committee of the
North Carolina General
Assembly supported a
measure to establish elec-
tronics recycling programs
in North Carolina. The
programs would be run by
local governments and
would be funded by an
advanced recycling fee. The
bill would also prohibit the
disposal of computer
monitors and televisions in
landfills by 2006.
The electronics waste
measure is modeled after the
successful “white good”
program that has been in
place for over a decade. The
white good program re-
quires consumers to pay a
small upfront fee when they
purchase household appli-
ances such as refrigerators or
washing machines. The
money collected from the
fees funds local solid waste
programs that divert the old
_ appliances from landfills
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and recycle the scrap metal.
White goods have one of
the highest recovery rates of
all discarded products in
North Carolina, providing
valuable resources to a steel
industry increasingly
dependent on scrap to make
new steel.
A similar program for
electronics would be just as
viable and sticessful for our
state. North Carolina has the
opportunity to be a leader
on this issue.
Markets are in place to
recycle old computers and
television sets. For example,
Computel, an electronic
recycler in Charlotte, is
already a regional leader in
this business serving area
school systems that have
large numbers of obsolete
computers. In addition, a
handful of local govern-
ments, such as Cary and
Wake County, are serving
their citizens by providing
electronics recycling pro-
grams. However, due to
budget constraints, other
municipalities and counties
that would be interested in
running such programs lack
the financial resources to put
these programs in place,
despite the fact that the
programs are a win-win
situation for public health
and the environment.
The governor of California
recently vetoed a bill passed
by the California Legislature
similar to the one proposed
in North Carolina.
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California’s Silicon Valley
produces an inordinate
amount of electronic waste,
as does North Carolina’s
Research Triangle Park and
the financial services indus-
tries in Charlotte.
Manufacturers and retail-
ers claimed in the California
effort that advanced recy-
cling fees would drive
customers out of the state.
Critics of the North Carolina
bill are making similar
arguments. But increasingly,
consumers in California as
well as North Carolina have
concerns that obsolete
electronics create a serious
threat to both public health
and our natural resources.
An advanced recycling fee is
small cost to pray for
I]
Call 704-739-7496
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maintaining the health of the
public and the planet.
Although the North
Carolina “e-waste” bill was
not voted on this year before
the legislature adjourned,
the growing amount of
electronics waste is not
going away and our health
and environment will suffer
in the meantime.
When elected officials
return to Raleigh this month,
they need to take steps to
make sure today’s hard
drive isn’t tomorrow's
electronic waste for the
landfill.
Steve Wall is the director
of governmental relations for
the Conservation Council of
North Carolina.
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