Extension Representatives Serve on E-Waste Consortium at Alabama A&M University

Three Alabama Cooperative Extension System representatives are a part of the E-Waste Consortium that recently developed the E-Waste Institute at Alabama A&M University. They are: Dr. Jannie Carter, Extension assistant director Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs; Rosalie Lane, an urban Extension community resource development specialist; and Erica Fields, an Extension graduate assistant.

The new institute will serve as a medium to educate, train, raise public awareness and influence public policies about safe environmental practices for electronic waste in Alabama and around the world.

Other representatives comprising the E-Waste Consortium include researchers Dr. Constance Wilson, Dr. Edward Williams, Dr. Wubishet Tadesse and Dr. Tefari Tsegaye of Alabama A&M University’s School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Charles King, founder of King Electronic Processing in Huntsville.

E-waste is a growing global concern, and the United States is one of the biggest producers of e-waste today. In 2005, America discarded about two million tons of e-waste, yet only 15 to 20 percent of that waste was recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that e-waste is growing at three times the rate of household trash in this country. Not only is e-waste filling up our landfills, it contains toxic chemicals, such as lead and mercury, that pose serious health risks to humans, wildlife and our environment.

“Although the United States has yet to develop a comprehensive e-waste management system, the E-Waste Institute is poised to become a premier academic entity that will help address what to do with e-waste,” says Dr. Wilson.

The institute is in Alabama A&M University’s School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and will support the institution’s mission of teaching, research and Extension. It will officially open this fall.

For more information, contact Dr. Carter at (256) 372-4943 or Dr. Wilson at (256) 372-4992.

Posted by dreynold at July 24, 2008 04:49 PM | TrackBack