Watson Wire

E-Wasting Away This Weekend

Thursday, November 01, 2007 |

So, what do most folks think is my favorite thing?  The activity that most occupies my time and fuels my anticipation for the future?

Well, here's a hint.  This time of year, the words "New Hampshire" bring up notions that just make you feel lucky to be a human being.  You know – honest and fair competition, a desire to learn, pursuit of the common good and a larger goal, teamwork, hard but healthy exercise . . . that sort of thing.

Politics?  Don't be ridiculous.  I'm talking about high school lacrosse.

Yep, Preston and members of Austin High's lacrosse team are preparing to head up to the Granite State next week, where they'll hang out with primary voters and play in sort of a warm-up tournament.  Maybe one of them will get to ask our next president about his or her position on cross-checking, slashing or warding.

For those scoring at home, Austin High has made it to the State Final Four two years in a row.  This is Preston's senior year, and Liz is returning as Austin High Lacrosse Association president.  Practice started this week.

I can't wait for the full season to get here.  I guess you could say this is my hobby.

Your Chance to Destroy Your Computer

I guess I've gotten better with computers.  These days, when my computers pass on, it tends to be from old age.  It's better than before, when they died being kicked or thrown against walls.  You can guess who the guilty party was.  That's right – the boys.

But let's not dwell on guilt or innocence.  Mistakes were made.  The bigger question is what you should do with a computer that hasn't kept up with the world – refusing to talk to your iPod, rubbing sticks together to make fire, etc.  As satisfying as it might be to chuck it down the stairs or into a dumpster, there's a better way.

Tomorrow, I'll team up with Dell, Goodwill, Austin Energy, and others for "e-Cycling Day."  The event will kick off a new era by encouraging Austinites to recycle their computers at no cost. 

These sorts of programs were the focus of a bill I authored in the last legislative session that promotes the recycling of e-waste.  It says that every manufacturer of a computer in Texas is required to have a plan to reclaim or collect, and recycle or reuse, that computer at the end of its useful life.

We're not just talking about cans and bottles here.  There are a whole lot of toxic materials, including lead and mercury, sitting in the box you're reading from now.  It's not the sort of thing we want to leave in the ground for decades or centuries.

House Bill 2714 – the House version of my bill, which became law this summer – makes Texas a national leader in electronic recycling.  It encourages innovation, giving recyclers and computer manufacturers flexibility in crafting recycling programs.  And it's designed to make life easy on people who want to do the right thing by setting up convenient places to return their old computers.

So, on Saturday, bring your old computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice (I'm guessing that's the plural for a computer mouse; I won't have a Dan Quayle moment and call them mouses) and laptops to Highland Mall.  We'll be in the north parking lot from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.