Who We Are
GreenMouse started as an electronic waste recycling business committed to building communities by providing a friendly and convenient way for business and residential consumers to dispose of unwanted waste. Evelyn O'Donnell, a Silicon Valley veteran, founded the company after a 15-year career in high-tech marketing and sales. Following a brief retirement, Evelyn's vision was to create a purpose-driven company that would provide sustainable employment and training to disadvantaged adults.In the summer of 2004, she founded eWaste Services after a friend introduced her to the electronic recycling market. She was amazed to learn that there was such a demand by both businesses and individuals to dispose of their electronic waste and too few businesses that offered recycling services. Word of her friendly, direct-to-your-door service quickly spread throughout the Bay Area and soon Evelyn was fielding requests for pick-ups from as far as Southern California. In 2008, eWaste Services changed its name to GreenMouse, a reflection of the company's commitment to environmental sustainability, particularly in regards to high-tech.
GreenMouse is approved by the State of California to collect and recycle electronic products from consumers and businesses of all types, including government, non-profit and educational institutions. GreenMouse, Inc. will pick-up and recycle your obsolete or non-working electronics, such as computers, monitors, fax machines, copiers, printers, phones, cabling, keyboards, mice, scanners, scrap metal and more. We're able to provide this service at no cost because we are subsidized in part by the State of California
What We Do
With collection and recycling facilities in Northern, Central and Southern California, we will pick-up and dispose of your e-waste in accordance with the regulatory obligations set forth by the State of California's Universal Waste Rule. Hazardous waste regulations designate a category of hazardous wastes called "universal waste." This category includes many items in addition to batteries, fluorescent lamps, cathode ray tubes, instruments that contain mercury and others. Not all universal wastes are subject to the same regulations or disposal requirements. In general, universal waste may not be discarded in solid waste landfills.
We partner with several state approved recycling facilities throughout California, where the electronic waste we collect is deposited daily. Each item is disassembled at our partner recycling facility. Television and monitor recycling produces three types of commodities: metals, plastics and glass, which are used to manufacture other consumer products.
Currently, a large percentage of e-waste ends up in a landfill or is shipped to Third World countries, where it is dumped. According to the EPA, in 2005, Americans generated 2.6 million tons of discarded electronics (TVs, VCRs, DVD players, video cameras, stereo systems, telephones, and computer equipment). Of that, 87.5 per cent (2.3 tons), ended up in landfills and incinerators. Only the remaining 12.5 per cent (330,000 tons) was recovered for recycling. Despite strong liners under landfills, pollutants from these electronics such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium, can leak into groundwater and streams. In fact, up to thirty-eight separate chemical elements are incorporated into electronic waste items. These toxins can cause serious health risks and irreversible damage to the environment. Also, because the electronic products are thrown away, additional pollution is created.
Compounding the problem is the astonishing rate at which consumers deem electronic goods unusable. The rapid advances in technology have accelerated the storage and unsustainable handling of obsolete electronic goods. In the US, about 400 million units of consumer electronics are scrapped every year and everyday, 133,000 PCs from homes and businesses are trashed. As stockpiling continues, there is growing concern about the volume of used or obsolete electronic equipment that will need to be managed responsibly when it emerges from storerooms or attics.
Our goal is to significantly reduce the amount toxins generated by e-waste pollution and to recycle valuable resources, such as plastics, glass and other materials used in the manufacturing electronic goods.