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Bluegrass company a leader in e-waste

I had the opportunity to tour your facility last year during the August recess and was very impressed by your commitment to ensure e-waste is recycled in a responsible manner. To know that GES has a zero waste policy which means no waste enters our landfills and requires the same from its downstream partners, makes me very proud to have your facility located in my district.

Then he applauds GES on it’s affects on Kentucky’s community, environment and economy:

Small businesses are an important part of Kentucky’s economy, and I know GES has already grown in the short time since opening, creating much needed jobs here which cannot be shipped overseas. I commend your outstanding commitment to our environment as well as to our community, and applaud your company for being an e-steward.

You can read the full letter here

GES Team Member

Global Environmental Services impacts the world by helping to keep dangerous electronic waste out of third-world trash heaps.  The company’s mission is to reuse resources and redirect existing products using the “highest use principle” — everything the company processes is reused, in whole or part, or goes back into the manufacturing stream for reuse through a process of manual dismantle or de-manufacturing.

GES also supports the local economy by employing a talented staff of 44 and offering a generous healthcare plan for them and their families. Only 16 months old, GES continues to report incredible growth.  In July of 2008 only one employee was on the books, 12 months later, 34 now 16 months in and yet another 10 jobs added.  During a time of remarkable upheaval and uncertainty in the world’s financial markets, GES is a strong example of how small businesses can lift a local economy and provide support for its citizens.

To learn more about Global Environmental Services, LLC join them on Facebook at GESRecycles, visit their website at www.gesrecycles.com or to schedule an interview with Kenny Gravitt, Managing Principal at GES, please contact Sharon Andrews at sharon.andrews@gesrecycles.com; mobile 859.250.7693.

About Global Environmental Services
Founded in 2008, GES has been recognized as an approved “e-Steward” from the Basel Action Network, universally recognized as the leading watchdog of the electronics waste industry and vetted by Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), the most prestigious environmental auditors in the world. Its staff has a long history of experience in recycling, information technology, de-manufacturing, asset recovery, waste management, logistics, and business operations. The company’s strategic partners have deep expertise in environmental management, materials processing, and resource recovery. An environmentally conscious staff and state of the art technology support GES’ ironclad commitment towards environmentally sustainable electronics recycling and transparency in all its operations.

PRESS CONTACT:
Sharon Andrews
Office: 502.570.8545 x30
Mobile: 859.250.7693
sharon.andrews@gesrecycles.com

September 2, 2009 (Seattle)

The Basel Action Network is pleased to announce that the non-profit environmental watchdog has recognized Global Environmental Services, LLC of Georgetown, KY as an e-Steward™ electronics recycler, a designation awarded to North American electronics recyclers and asset managers who have been qualified as upholding the highest standard of environmental and social responsibility. “We congratulate Global Environmental Services on passing our rigorous review,” says Jim Puckett, BAN’s Executive Director. “The public and GES’s customers can feel confident that, unlike most of the electronics recycling industry, Global Environmental Services does not use dumping, prison labor, or poor laborers in developing countries to process e-waste. It is an expensive and complex process to recycle electronics so the poisonous byproducts do not hurt people or the planet. In an industry rife with fraud and false claims, only e-Stewards can prove they are responsible and ethical.”

“Global Environmental Services has always voluntarily operated at the highest standards in the electronics recycling industry,” said Kenny Gravitt, Owner and Managing Principle of GES. “In a culture where many people pay lip service to the ‘green’ standards they claim to uphold, Global Environmental Services follows through on every promise we make. We are proud to be recognized by BAN at the absolute highest level in our field. I simply have never been more proud of my team and this exceptional accomplishment.”

BAN estimates there are major ethical problems with how approximately 90% of U.S. electronic recycling companies operate: 1) most so-called “recyclers” actually export the toxic scrap to developing countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, India and China, thus creating enormous horrific toxic dumps that 60 Minutes called “the most poisonous places on earth”; 2) they use U.S. prison labor, which poisons the inmates and provides unfair competition to legitimate recyclers in the private sector; 3) they use local municipal landfills and incinerators, passing the toxics to local taxpayers and their groundwater and air; 4) they ignore sensitive personal or corporate data hidden in memory devices on computing and phone equipment; 5) and finally, few protect their own workers from toxic phosphors, dangerous shredder dust from dismantled equipment, and other potent hazards associated with electronics recycling.

In response, BAN and other environmental and social justice advocates have joined with a progressive minority of electronic recycling industry leaders to establish needed rules now known as the “e-Steward Standard.” These rules prevent these major problems, and today, over 30 of the most sophisticated electronics recyclers have passed BAN’s qualification, increasingly known as the gold standard for the industry. Global Environmental Services is the latest member of this progressive industry leadership.

GES’ new 70,000 square foot facility in Kentucky is among the best e-recycling centers in the world, and its staff has a long history of experience in recycling, information technology, de-manufacturing, waste management, logistics, and business operations. The company’s strategic partners have deep expertise in environmental management, materials processing, and resource recovery.

An environmentally conscious staff and state of the art technology support GES’ ironclad commitment towards environmentally sustainable electronics recycling and transparency in all its operations.

To learn more about Global Environmental Services, LLC join them on Facebook at GES Recycles, visit their website at gesrecycles.com or to schedule an interview with Kenny Gravitt, Managing Principal at GES, please contact Sharon Andrews at sharon.andrews@gesrecycles.com; mobile 859.250.7693.

Kentucky-based electronics recycler supports local community and the world

GEORGETOWN, KY, July 29, 2009 – According to a recent poll from Intuit Payroll of 1000 U.S. small business owners, 61% are optimistic about prospects for growth even in light of the continuing worldwide recession. And Kenny Gravitt, who heads up Global Environmental Services (GES), a leading nationwide electronics recycler, has more reason than most to cheer. Certified in Kentucky yet serving the world, GES is a stellar example of the tenacity, smarts and passion that are a hallmark of the most successful American-led small businesses.

Their positive impact on the environment is undeniable. At GES’ new 70,000 square foot facility in Kentucky — among the best electronics recycling centers in the world — a lean, focused staff of 34 in the bucolic town of Georgetown, Kentucky have kept over one million pounds of steel, plastics, copper and other electronics waste out of landfills. No small feat for a company that is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month.

“We understand responsibility at GES,” says Gravitt, Managing Principal. “In an industry not known for environmentally-friendly practices, we stand out. We recycle all kinds of electronics — computers, printers, cell phones, you name it. We destroy data using the most secure methods and we re-use materials whenever possible. Our numbers tell the truth. We know exactly where everything goes—which can’t be said for a number of our competitors.”

The company’s mission is to reuse resources and redirect existing products using the “highest use principle” — everything the company processes is reused, in whole or part, or goes back into the manufacturing stream for reuse.

In one year, GES has:

Processed over 640,000 pounds of steel, 240,000 pounds of plastic, 86,000 pounds of high-grade electronic cards and 31,000 pounds of low-grade electronic cards
Shred over 60,000 pounds of hard drives
Recovered over 55,000 pounds of copper and over 2800 parts for reuse
Recovered and cleaned over 375 hard drives for reuse
Placed over 500 printers and 300 computers back into the hands of people who can use them, such as local Kentucky charities

Says Gravitt, “That’s 1,115, 975 pounds of materials saved to date with zero dumped in a landfill and zero gear or e-waste exported.”

GES’ impact on the world is far-reaching, helping to keep dangerous e-waste out of third-world trash heaps. And its local influence hits close to home for the citizens of Kentucky, whose e-waste can be picked up from local businesses, governments and colleges. The company then sells parts to companies that recycle them, “downstream partners” such as ARC Inc., a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho America, Inc., which reuses plastics.

GES also supports the local economy by employing a talented staff of 34 and offering a generous healthcare plan for them and their families. During a time of remarkable upheaval and uncertainty in the world’s financial markets, GES is a strong example of how small businesses can lift a local economy and provide support for its citizens.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Kenny Gravitt, Managing Principal at GES, please contact Theresa Pantazopoulos at tesspantaz@gmail.com; mobile 917.701.7991 or via Skype at tesspantaz.

About Global Environmental Services
Founded in 2008, GES has been vetted by Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), the most prestigious environmental auditors in the world, and is currently awaiting certification as an “e-Steward” from the Basel Action Network, universally recognized as the leading watchdog of the electronics waste industry. Its staff has a long history of experience in recycling, information technology, demanufacturing, waste management, logistics, and business operations. The company’s strategic partners have deep expertise in environmental management, materials processing, and resource recovery. An environmentally conscious staff and state of the art technology support GES’ ironclad commitment towards environmentally sustainable electronics recycling and transparency in all its operations.

PRESS CONTACT:
Theresa Pantazopoulos
Mobile: 917.701.7991
Skype: tesspantaz
tesspantaz@gmail.com

GEORGETOWN, KY, July 7, 2009 – Americans are highly vulnerable to data theft from discarded computers, cautions leading nationwide electronics recycler, Global Environmental Services (GES).

Contrary to the practice espoused by James Durie of the FBI in a recent PBS-TV “Frontline World” exposé on electronic waste, smashing a hard drive with a hammer will not destroy data from a discarded computer. Digitally encoded data resides deep within the drive on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces; cybercriminals can take just a small piece of that platter and use algorithms to dissect valuable personal, professional, and financial information.

Says Kenny Gravitt, Managing Principal of GES, “The only sure way to get rid of the data on a hard drive is to sanitize it with software that makes multiple passes, or to completely grind it up. Taking a hammer to the hard drive or shooting it with a nail gun will not, in fact, keep data out of the hands of cybercriminals or terrorist cells.”

Consumers, businesses and governments must be vigilant in questioning how their electronic waste is recycled, advises Gravitt. As exposed by CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes” last fall and in the recent “Frontline World” program, a number of companies are illegally shipping waste to massive, toxic dumping grounds in developing countries—under the guise of environmentally sustainable recycling practices.

Additionally, through Federal Prison Industries (commonly referred to as FPI or by its trade name UNICOR), the U.S. federal government supports using prison labor for data destruction. The practice has been condemned by recycling industry activists such as the Electronics Takeback Coalition, yet continues—to the consternation of responsible e-recyclers as well as prisoner’s rights organizations concerned about the harmful effects on the health of prisoners who are forced to disassemble toxic products.

“The double threat to the environment and to our data security is a serious issue that has not received nearly enough attention here in the U.S.,” says Gravitt. “At GES, we often get calls from people who will not agree to a thorough background check, and I’m going to make an educated guess that these are blacklisted companies who can’t buy retail and are turning to e-recyclers.”

“This industry is an outlet for older gear that may not be brand new but will get the job—whatever that is—done,” cautions Gravitt. “There are people in this industry who just don’t know the implications of these sales but are desperate to make a profit. Combine not knowing who you’re dealing with and not being 100% secure in your moral decisions and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.”

At GES, an environmentally conscious staff and state of the art technology support an ironclad commitment towards environmentally sustainable e-recycling and transparency in all its operations. Its mission is to reuse resources and redirect existing products using the highest use principle—everything the company processes is reused, in whole or part, or goes back into the manufacturing stream for reuse.

GES’ new 70,000 square foot facility in Kentucky is among the best e-recycling centers in the world, and its staff has a long history of experience in recycling, information technology, demanufacturing, waste management, logistics, and business operations. The company’s strategic partners have deep expertise in environmental management, materials processing, and resource recovery.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Kenny Gravitt, Managing Principal, or Sharon Andrews, Director of Business Development at GES, please contact Theresa Pantazopoulos at tesspantaz@gmail.com; mobile 917.701.7991 or via Skype at tesspantaz.

About Global Environmental Services
Founded in 2008, GES has been vetted by Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), the most prestigious environmental auditors in the world, and is currently awaiting certification as an “e-Steward” from the Basel Action Network, universally recognized as the leading watchdog of the electronics waste industry.

PRESS CONTACT:
Theresa Pantazopoulos
Mobile: 917.701.7991
Skype: tesspantaz
tesspantaz@gmail.com