‘Silicon Alley’ Private Cloud Provider Becomes e-Stewards Enterprise

Cyber City Inc., a private cloud solutions provider, has joined the e-Stewards Enterprise program, which ensures that their electronic waste will be preferentially managed by e-Stewards Certified Recyclers and not dumped in developing countries or otherwise managed irresponsibly, the company says.

As an e-Stewards Enterprise, Cyber City commits to using, wherever possible, recyclers that are annually audited and certified to the e-Stewards Standard for responsible recycling and reuse of electronic equipment. Cyber City is the first technical support company based in New York’s “Silicon Alley” to become an e-Stewards Enterprise.

The e-Stewards Enterprise program recognizes companies, organizations and governments that take concrete measures to eliminate the export of hazardous electronic waste to developing countries. Other e-Stewards Enterprises include Akamai, Bank of America, Bloomberg, Boeing, Capital One, Samsung, Server Monkey and Staples.

As much as 80% of American electronic waste is routinely dumped in developing countries or local landfills, says Jim Puckett, executive director of non-profit Basel Action Network, the group that developed the program. That percentage is “just not acceptable anymore,” he says, adding that “to shrink our toxic footprint and our carbon footprint, to ensure our children’s future, we are going to need more leaders of all private and public institutions to take such steps and take care of the high-tech toxic trash.”

Cyber City says it has provided clients with responsible electronic recycling options for many years. Since 2010, the company has partnered with 4th Bin, a New York City recycler that is certified to the e-Stewards Standard.

Glenn McGinnis, co-founder and CEO of Cyber City Inc., says environmental stewardship in technology recycling is a core belief of his company. “Our managed services have included recycling for over a decade, and our Private Cloud offers clients the opportunity to further reduce their hardware footprint.”

Electronic devices are loaded with environmentally hazardous materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, beryllium and brominated flame retardants. These substances are known to cause cancer and birth defects. E-waste is sometimes burned in developing countries, which releases worse toxins such as dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, some of the most toxic substances known to mankind.