Recycling valuable raw materials from old electronic equipment can also be a way to create jobs for people with disabilities, says Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Electronic waste is full of valuable raw minerals, but computers and cellular phones are often junked before those materials can be recovered. A new incentive offered by the Israeli government aims to encourage people to recycle electronic waste, or e-waste, while providing jobs for an under-employed sector at the same.

“Our idea is to open some new places for disabled people to work,” says Yoav Goell, the recycling coordinator for Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (http://www.environment.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_homePage).

Together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services (http://www.molsa.gov.il/OdotMisrad/HofeshM), the ministry is hoping to kick-start a new kind of sustainable business in Israel – one that gives back to society and is good for the environment.

Wanted: A few green men

Each ministry is pitching in NIS 1 million for a startup fund, for a total of about $600,000 to be given to existing or new companies looking to build a new business in Israel out of e-waste, and willing to employ people with disabilities.

Companies or individuals with a good “green” idea are invited to apply once the tender is announced by the end of the year. Existing companies with infrastructure available, or news ones, are invited to apply, says Goell, who oversees the recycling activities of the Israeli government. This isn’t a charity project, he stresses. After a year or two, it should be able not only to self-fund, but to turn a profit for the parties involved.

E-waste is a growing problem worldwide. Now the Israeli government hopes to turn it into a profitable new business.

Goell has in mind to model the e-waste facility on VPM PLAST (vpm-plast.com), located on the northern Kibbutz Yasur. VPM PLASTruns a 5,000-meter facility to handle and recycle plastics – anything from disposable dishes and cutlery to toys, pens, plastic upholstery and hoses -- which are then made into useful materials according to specific needs.

“We had the idea that we will open places like this,” says Goell. “We will give them the first financial budget for the initial year or two so that they can start working, and then run by themselves.”

He notes that Israel has many recycling projects dealing with paper or cans, but none dealing with e-waste. He and his colleagues agreed that they wanted to fund more sophisticated “green” projects.

Goell is hoping that major businesses, including ones run by Israel’s newest “green” queen, Shari Arison, will apply. The heiress to the Carnival Cruise Lines also inherited banks and other assets when her father, Ted Arison, passed away. Arison has been on a mission to ensure that all her companies start thinking green in their business activities.

Cutting back on landfill

In Israel, municipalities run the recycling activities but the government supports them with incentives and grants for new projects. When private companies are interested in collecting recyclables, like plastics and paper, they apply for a license through the city. In many cities, for example, there are street bins for collecting paper and plastic bottles. In the future, the government plans for all household waste to be separated into two streams, wet and dry, and then sorted at a recycling facility, Goell says.

Learning from other countries, including Germany, Israel has determined that this will be the most efficient method.

According to Environment Ministry reports, Israel aims to achieve a 50 percent recycling level of household and industry waste by the year 2020. As for electronic waste, it is not necessarily a problem of quantity but of quality.

Hazardous materials from e-waste cause damage beyond the landfill site as materials leach into the ground and groundwater. Through this latest project, Israel plans on tackling the problem by turning it into a profitable endeavor.