Check It Out: We need more innovative pioneers
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
Who never minds being interrupted in the middle of a sentence? The answer to the joke is “a convict”.
Eric Lundgren from the United States, was sent to prison in 2018, and served 12 months for good behaviour. The prosecutor for his case said he had potentially taken a sale from Microsoft by helping consumers to repair their existing technology. His words to Eric were, “Microsoft wants your head on a platter and I am going to give it to them.” It wasn’t an encouraging statement, but Eric didn’t allow a prison sentence to interrupt his passion for recycling.
“I went to prison for a crime that I don’t think is truly a crime,” Eric said in an interview. He is the first e-waste recycler to be sent to prison. His passion began at the age of 16 when he saw a landfill filled with brand new products. Since then he’s been building businesses that recycle waste.
By 2017 he and his recycling company became well known. The company built an electric car from recycled trash, and the junked BMW loaded with used batteries, won a Guinness record for the longest and fastest single-charge electric vehicle drive.
He landed in legal trouble when he attempted to distribute thousands of Windows discs to restore old Microsoft computers. Microsoft provides the discs for free, but charged Eric with violating copyright laws. As a result, agents burst into his home and he was subsequently charged with 21 crimes. “I got in the way of one of the largest companies that believes in using, consuming and throwing away, and I believe in reuse,” Eric concluded.
Being locked behind bars might discourage some people, but Eric used this time to continue to develop his business. “E waste is responsible for 70 percent of heavy metals in our landfills and nobody is dealing with what is discarded,” he said. He noted that $55 billion of E-waste is thrown away every year in the U.S. alone.
Now Eric’s company, BigBattery is considered as an innovative pioneer. “We have the largest stockpile of electric vehicle batteries in the U.S.” he said. Eric pays companies to take away their unused or used batteries, and buys manufacturers’ overstock.
Eric bought 49,000 new electric scooters which were destined for a landfill. “They were getting rid of them. We refurbished them and provided scooters to the public at half the price of manufacturing. They were liquidated very quickly; we have about 3,000 left,” Eric said.
Since Tesla doesn’t have a reuse program, Eric buys up all the used cars. Although the batteries are no longer good enough for cars, they can be used for solar power, battery back-up, camper vans, motor boats, golf carts, lighting and powering a home. All of Eric’s batteries come with a ten year warranty with the lowest price guaranteed.
Eric’s company moved on forward right through 2020 and the health restrictions. Although his company could have been eligible for $275,000 of assistance, he was excluded because he was a convicted felon.
Nevertheless the amount of global e-waste keeps on expanding; as a result Eric’s business is also expanding, opening additional facilities in Singapore, Hong Kong and Mexico.
“Where I am going and where we’re at is not enough,” Eric said. “We’re great at consuming, marketing, using and throwing things away. But we need to work on the recycling part.”
Eric is certainly doing his part, and we could use many more innovative pioneers like him.
You can contact me at joanjanzen@yahoo.com