Q&A With John Shegerian, Electronics Recycling Expert

Electronic gadgets will make up a big part of the holiday loot hauled home from retailers this year. Much of it will replace outdated technology. John S. Shegerian, CEO of Electronic Recyclers International, an electronic waste collector and recycler, specializes in the environmentally safe and socially responsible dismantling of electronic items such as computers, televisions, monitors, cell phones and other gadgets.
He tells BusinessNewsDaily which electronics get recycled most often and where what people tend to overlook when it comes to recycling.

BusinessNewsDaily: What are the electronic items most often recycled? And the least?

J.S.: Televisions and cell phones are most recycled items. And the least recycled electronic items are copy machines. But, they should all be recycled.

BND: Where is the biggest opportunity for improvement in terms of recycling ?

J.S.: More education which will lead to the motivation of consumers to change their behavior. For example, most people don’t understand that the copy machines all have hard drives that save all the images of all their copies and all of these materials should be appropriately handled and shredded. The biggest opportunity is not only environmentally based in regards to recycling, it also exists in an appropriate data destruction which protects the privacy of all citizens and consumers, corporations and governmental entities.

BND: As the owner of a business that has to meet strict environmental regulation, how do you keep up with changing laws?

J.S.: There are third-party regulatory bodies that now are helping to regulate and enforce the massive growth that this industry is following. It is also very critical that we stay on top of all evolving laws and regulations because a large part of what we do is educating our clients to these ever changing laws . As the leading solution in electronic recycling, we have to be prepared at all times to know exactly how to solve the problems of all the clients in every state in this country.

BND: What are the challenges small businesses, in general, face in terms of complying with regulation?

J.S.: When you are too small, potentially compliance can overwhelm the infrastructure of a small company. When you start growing larger, you get to amortize those costs, but those costs can potentially increase if laws and regulations are variable on a state-to-state basis. Being small and nimble truly has its benefits, but as you grow your company, you also realize the bigger you are the bigger target you can become.

BND: Where do you think the biggest growth opportunities are in your industry?

J.S.: To continue to grow our footprints in the United States is very important while we continue to negotiate some very strategic opportunities in emerging markets such as India, Asia and in dollarpe also.

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