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Are reuse and recycling part of the platform of green jobs? The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has done great work showing how reuse and recycling jobs boost local economies.

Unfortunately, some recycling - especially of computers and TVs is being "outsourced" to incredibly unsafe dirty operations in Asia and Africa - or to US federal prisons. I'm part of an effort to get the electronics companies to take back their products for responsible recycling. Legislation has passed in 15 states mandating some electronics producer takeback recycling. We're also working to get federal legislation passed to stop the dumping of e-waste on developing countries. Is this something Green for All might get behind?

thanks for posting robin,

sounds like you are doing great, critically important work.

I personally don't know much about reuse and recycling, and haven't had the opportunity to check in with all the more-informed policy people here at Green For All, so you'll have to settle for my personal answer (sorry!)

Green-collar jobs vary a lot from location to location, depending on the local economic needs and opportunities. Green For All does not currently have a list, or "platform" as you put it, for what counts as a green-collar job.

The very basic test for a green-collar jobs is this: is it good for people? is it good for the planet? If the answer is no to either of these, it isn't a green-collar job. For a fuller explanation, see: http://www.greenforall.org/[…]/green-collar-jobs-overview

Some questions to consider to determine whether recycling and reuse provide good green-collar jobs:

Do workers in recycling get paid a family-supporting wage? Are they properly protected from toxic waste? Do they have access to a career ladder, or does the job end on a line in a recycling plant?

It sounds like the state legislation is focused on environmental benefits... perhaps you could work to include provisions in your policy that protect workers and provide opportunities for low-income communities.

I don't think that this specific issue is among our legislative priorities at the moment. We are focusing on investments in green-collar job training and creation. Again, I haven't had the opportunity to run this by our policy team, but this is my hunch to your question.

Thanks again for posting.

This article by Teamsters on recycling is totally relevant... http://www.greenforall.org/[…]onmentally-and-economically

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