Cash for Trash: E-Waste Disposal and Management in China by Big Green Alliance

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Osero Shadrack Tengeya May 19, 2015 05:32 Fellow 1 \| Share via:	Hi Xi Louise LI, Thank you for your proposal. It looks so compelling and with much potential. Good luck in the contest.
Xi Louise Li May 20, 2015 05:11 Member 2 \| Share via:	Proposal contributor Thank you @Tengeya and do let us know if you have any suggestion - the floor is open and we always look forward to more innovative ideas! Best, Louise
Stevie Harison Jun 12, 2015 03:59 Catalyst 3 \| Share via:	Hello Louise and Big Green Alliance Team, Greetings from Indonesia. Ni hao! Anyway, the project proposal by Baidu as explained is using apps and high technology, but one question from me, is there any traditional approach taking place besides using apps and techs? For example, in our country (Indonesia), there are so many e-waste collector who are moving home to home to directly collect their e-waste, or well-organized by environmental startups such in Bali with same principle of 'cash for trash'. While tech and apps talk about mobility and efficiency, traditional approach talk about real social interaction and more accurate and credible mapping of urban e-waste. Success for the project, Xie xie !
Lingchang Wang Jun 15, 2015 09:16 Member 4 \| Share via:	Using Baidu Recycle for mobile phones is a novel idea. The program is designed for large appliances too strenuous to transport for traditional e-waste collectors, i.e. refrigerators, water heaters, washing machines, etc. At the moment there is a large market for used mobile phones in China, but the market is not regulated at all (i.e. not taxed). Farm workers and migrant workers often purchase used mobile phones instead of buying new ones, and this is often viewed as a hindrance to GDP growth (the last census shows that 40% of the population living in large cities are migrant workers, and 95% of which purchased used mobile phones). Using Baidu Recycle and disassembling old mobile phones for electronics would indeed shrink the product life span and increase the amount of material being recycled, and grow the demand for new electronic good, promoting economic growth. I see a lot of potential in this proposal, and it definitely is a concept that the Chinese government would be interested in.
Xi Louise Li Jul 10, 2015 06:49 Member 5 \| Share via:	Proposal contributor Dear @stevieleonardharison, Greetings from Beijing! Thank you for the great insight on the traditional market of e-waste collection and encouragement. Indeed there are also many informal individual e-waste collectors, which as CoLab judges also pointed out - are potentially after collecting old home appliance, extracting the most valuable materials and discarding others to maximize profit - which expose great danger to the environment and human health. Guiyu city in China in particular, has been reported by media to be one of the most notorious places for irresponsible extraction of e-waste. (See Wiki page here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste_in_Guiyu) The role of the App we are currently developing is to serve as the bridge between modern technology and the traditional approach - encouraging the individual e-waste collectors to register on the App as formal collectors, receive orders posted by users, go and pick up the e-waste, ship it back to the certified factory to handle the waste responsibly. The App 2.0 will have two interfaces - one for normal households to take photos of their old home appliance and post to the App as online orders, one for individual collectors to take the orders and complete the collection - an idea inspired by Uber the taxi app! We hope to leverage this Internet solution to tackle development issues and Chinese government has been very interested in it and has been our partner along the way. Hope this answers your question and more information will be revealed in the upcoming, updated proposal so stay tuned :-) Best, Louise
Xi Louise Li Jul 10, 2015 06:37 Member 6 \| Share via:	Proposal contributor Dear @wan7830, Thank you for your comments from which I can see you have very good knowledge of Chinese market! The Ministry of Environmental Protection is involved in the development of the App and has provided valuable inputs - to double ensure that the operation of the scheme is sustainable and environmentally sound. Again, stay tuned for our updated proposal coming soon! Best, Louise
Chad Knutsen Jul 10, 2015 04:48 Member 7 \| Share via:	Very cool project! I would be interested in helping you expand in the US. My partners and I actually have a terrific technology that allows for electronics waste to be processed, and separated into its individual materials, and micronizing those materials separately for reintroduction to the market/manufacturing stream. If you are interested in collaborating, feel free to message me. Cheers, Chad K.
Xi Louise Li Jul 12, 2015 10:59 Member 8 \| Share via:	Proposal contributor Hello @chadith Let us definitely talk more. Maybe I could link you up with our current partner a Chinese electronic company who is serving as the recycling provider for the App and has strong capacity for e-waste disposal as well and you can compare notes with each other. Best, Louise