{"id":27375,"date":"2016-02-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T15:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=27375"},"modified":"2018-06-05T12:12:01","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T16:12:01","slug":"cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/","title":{"rendered":"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"player_container player-27375\" ><div class=\"spp_player_textabove\"><b>Listen to the Episode  <\/b><\/div><div id=\"sm2-27375\" class=\"sm2-27375 playercontent sm2-bar-ui compact flat full-width full-width-player\"><div class=\"bd sm2-main-controls\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-inline-element sm2-button-element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-button-bd\" style=\"background: transparent url(https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/podcast_channel_artwork.jpg) repeat scroll 0% 0% \/ cover ;\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"spp-player-background\"> <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#play\" class=\"sm2-inline-button play-pause\"><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"loader\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"eq\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"bar bar-1\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"bar bar-2\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"bar bar-3\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"bar bar-4\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"sm2-inline-element sm2-inline-status progressbar\">\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-button-bd\" style=\"display:none;\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"playerpitch0\" style=\"display:none;\">0.75x<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"playerpitch1\">1x<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"playerpitch2\" style=\"display:none;\">1.25x<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"playerpitch3\" style=\"display:none;\">1.5x<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"playerpitch4\" style=\"display:none;\">2x<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-button-bd\" style=\"display:none;\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"secrewind\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-playlist\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-playlist-target\"><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-progress\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-progress-bd\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-progress-track\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-progress-bar1\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-progress-bar\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-progress-ball\"><div class=\"icon-overlay\"><\/div><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-row timestamp timetext\"><div class=\"sm2-inline-time timestamp\">0:00<\/div><div class=\"sm2-inline-duration timestamp\">14:01<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-inline-element sm2-button-element sm2-volume\" style=\"0\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   <div class=\"sm2-button-bd\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sm2-inline-button sm2-volume-control volume-shade\"><\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#volume\" class=\"sm2-inline-button sm2-volume-control\" style=\"\"><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"bd sm2-playlist-drawer sm2-element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sm2-playlist-wrapper\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"sm2-playlist-bd\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/thestoryexchange\/Traci_Phillips_FINAL.mp3\">Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"sppbuttons\" style=\"\"><a class=\"button-itunes\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-story-exchange\/id1036000689?ls=1\">Apple Podcasts<\/a><a class=\"button-g-play\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzdG9yeWV4Y2hhbmdlLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz\">Google Podcasts<\/a><a class=\"button-embed\" rel=\"modal:open\"  id=\"button-embed\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"#ex1\">Player Embed<\/a><a class=\"button-share\" data-target=\"btnshare\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"#\">Share<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"btnshare\" class=\"webui-popover-content share-buttons\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"facebook\"><i class=\"fa fa-facebook\"><\/i><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=Ep.+9%3A+Cleaning+Up+Our+E-Waste+Mess -&url=https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"twitter\"><i class=\"fa fa-twitter\"><\/i><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><a class=\"button-sppreview\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"http:\/\/getpodcast.reviews\/id\/1036000689\">Leave a Review<\/a><a class=\"button-spplisten\" style=\"display:none !important;\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"javascript:window.open('http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/thestoryexchange\/Traci_Phillips_FINAL.mp3','','width=500,height=250')\">Listen in a New Window<\/a><a class=\"button-download\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/thestoryexchange\/Traci_Phillips_FINAL.mp3\">Download<\/a><a class=\"button-soundcloud\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"\">SoundCloud<\/a><a class=\"button-stitcher\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/s?fid=72717&refid=stpr\">Stitcher<\/a><a class=\"button-sppandroid\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"http:\/\/subscribeonandroid.com\/thestoryexchange.libsyn.com\/rss\">Subscribe on Android<\/a><a class=\"button-spprss\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.libsyn.com\/rss\">Subscribe via RSS<\/a><a class=\"button-spotify\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"\">Spotify<\/a><a class=\"spp-button-custom1\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.prx.org\/series\/34510-the-story-exchange\">PRX<\/a><a class=\"spp-button-custom2\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/music.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLaK2UyNCu2g2_preGI12R4z2iRXjIH3ah\">Youtube Music<\/a><a class=\"spp-button-custom3\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5lJgdFK8g9WWXLBYjWytyn\">Spotify<\/a><a class=\"spp-button-custom4\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/pca.st\/B094\">Pocket Casts<\/a><a class=\"spp-button-custom5\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"\"><\/a><a class=\"spp-button-custom6\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"display:none !important;\" href=\"\"><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27377\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27377\" style=\"width: 906px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27377 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg\" alt=\"Traci Phillips, Natural Evolution e-waste recycling\" width=\"906\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg 906w, https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906-525x268.jpg 525w, https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906-768x392.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906-100x51.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906-862x440.jpg 862w, https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906-846x431.jpg 846w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27377\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traci Phillips, Natural Evolution; \u00a0Photo courtesy of <a href=\"http:\/\/journalrecord.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Journal Record<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can&#8217;t clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment. Hear how the Tulsa, Okla., entrepreneur&#8217;s Native American roots inspired her to turn a personal mission into a successful business: <a href=\"http:\/\/naturalevolution.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Natural Evolution<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Article<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/entrepreneur-cleaning-ewaste-mess\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cleaning Up Our E-waste Mess<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"transcript-box\" style=\"float:none !important;\">\r\n<div class=\"accordion-container\">\r\n\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-toggle\">Read Full Transcript<span class=\"toggle-icon\"><i class=\"fa fa-angle-double-down\"><\/i><\/span><\/a>\r\n\t\t<div class=\"accordion-accordion_content\">\r\n\t\t\t<p><p>Traci Phillips (TP): It\u2019s extremely important that we\u2019re recovering our resources. If it goes into a landfill then it\u2019s just wasted. It\u2019s gone. <\/p>\n<p>INTRO: Welcome to The Story Exchange, featuring the stories and strategies of entrepreneurial women around the world. I\u2019m Colleen DeBaise, host of The Story Exchange podcast, and we\u2019ll be joined later by our co-founder, Sue Williams.<\/p>\n<p>NARRATOR: We all love our gadgets -- too much so. Think about all the devices you have -- a computer, maybe a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone -- and you\u2019re just one person. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll replace those devices with the latest models, probably in a couple years -- if not sooner. (NUSHA: add tiny beat here) What happens to all your old stuff? Where does it all go?<br \/>\nToday, we feature an entrepreneur who -- fifteen years ago, even before the iPhone was invented -- was already asking this question. Her name is Traci Phillips of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Traci learned that dead cell phones, washed up computers, those old dot-matrix printers were clogging landfills, and even worse -- releasing toxic substances into the environment\u2026.<br \/>\nTP: You\u2019ve got lead. You\u2019ve got batteries, different, you know, lithium, alkalines. And you start mixing all of that material together ... in the wrong environments then you can, you know, have leeching problems.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: So Traci came up with a business idea that was very innovative at the time. She had managed tech projects for years, and had just been laid off\u2026.why not try to make a dent in this e-waste problem? She got started in 2001.<br \/>\nTP: Natural Evolution is an electronics recycling company that recycles (PICK UP) responsibly. We do not land fill. And we haven\u2019t since the beginning.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: We wanted to find out more, so we headed to Tulsa to talk to Traci at her recycling facility<br \/>\nTP (SOT): Don\u2019t junk that.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: If you go to our website, TheStoryExchange.org, you can watch a video we produced, telling Traci\u2019s complete story. Today, we\u2019re going to share snippets of that conversation. You\u2019ll hear how Traci\u2019s Native American roots helped inspire her company\u2019s environmental mission, and you\u2019ll hear about some of the setbacks she endured along the way. If you\u2019ve ever wondered how to turn a personal cause or mission into a successful business, this is a story for you.<br \/>\n**musical interlude**<br \/>\nNARRATOR: Our story begins in Tulsa, where Traci was born and raised. She comes from an interesting ethnic background.<br \/>\nTRACI (02:29:08.1) My dad was (PICK UP) actually Native American and Irish. My maiden name is Finnegan [CHUCKLES], so Irish and Indian. And\u2026 he was Osage, Cherokee, and Potawatomi.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: Like a lot of young people, Traci didn\u2019t give a lot of thought to her heritage. She was more concerned with school, and then work. Her parents divorced when she was young.<br \/>\nTP: It was my mom and my sister and I.  I think the three of us were trying to survive. I...worked almost the entire time that I was in college. (02:34:19.03) I\u2019ve pretty much done whatever it was necessary to feed myself and keep a roof over my head.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: That pretty much sums up Traci\u2019s work ethic. She did everything from mowing lawns and waiting tables, to selling copiers. By the late 90s, she was doing well in the technology industry and had gotten married. That\u2019s when she became interested in connecting all the dots\u2026.<br \/>\nTP: My Native American history and my culture and, and learning as much as I can about my tribes and where my ancestors came from.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: As she explored her roots, she became drawn to the idea of starting a business with an environmental purpose.<br \/>\nTP: My husband and I on the side had been researching and, and discussing the problems of old electronics and the material that is generated from these old electronics.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: The idea, though, just sort of sat in the back of her brain. But a few years later, in 2001, just when she had given birth to her daughter\u2026.something unexpected and pretty horrible happened.<br \/>\nTP: When I was in the hospital I, my boss called me and told me I was getting laid off. It was a real blow. I had given a lot to the company.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: But losing her job, while initially upsetting, had a positive consequence. As old adage goes, when one door closes, another one opens.<br \/>\nTP: I talked to my family. My grandmother was gracious enough to offer to loan us some money. And we decided to start the business. We started to give this new thing called electronics recycling a try.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: Traci named the business Natural Evolution\u2026<br \/>\nTP: The name of the company actually came from how metal melts. It will actually evolve on its own into different forms and different shapes. And there is a natural process to that without man being involved in that.<br \/>\n**Musical interlude**<br \/>\nNARRATOR: So that\u2019s the first part of Traci\u2019s story, and we\u2019ll continue in just a bit with how her company overcame some initial obstacles and is now making about $1 million dollars in annual revenue. Now, as I often am, I\u2019m joined by Sue Williams, our resident filmmaker, who spent a day with Traci in Tulsa and produced our video profile of her. By the way, if you\u2019ve never checked out our site, please do so -- It\u2019s TheStoryExchange.org. We\u2019re a nonprofit media company and we produce articles and videos about women business owners. Welcome, Sue.<br \/>\nSUE: Great to be here, Colleen.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: So, you know, I know e-waste recycling is NOT a pretty business\u2026<br \/>\nSUE: It\u2019s really not. It\u2019s actually pretty shocking\u2026 You know, I look at my phone or my laptop and they are sleek and silver and very attractive and you never think about what\u2019s s inside, right? But a lot of chemicals, bad ones, heavy metals, and plastics go into making them. So taking them apart is pretty dirty work.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: So, I know you went there for the video. What\u2019s it like to be inside Traci\u2019s facility?<br \/>\nSUE: Well, the building itself is massive \u2013 it\u2019s about 30,000-square-feet. It\u2019s really huge, and there are rows and rows of huge cartons filled with old computers, laptops, printers, wires, cables and keyboards and phones just as far as you can see.  It\u2019s really amazing. And then there are mountains of old TVs \u2013 you know, the old analogue ones that are full of lead. So it\u2019s actually a bit overwhelming. And most of Tracy\u2019s 13 employees work all day long \u201cde-manufacturing\u201d all these devices\u2026..<br \/>\nNARRATOR: \u201cDe-manufacturing.\u201d So explain what that is. (I have terrible headphones but I feel that the overall level on our voices are lower than Traci\u2019s - esp. in this section. Can you boost overall?)<br \/>\nSUE: Well they\u2019re basically taking everything apart and stripping away anything inside that\u2019s valuable -- like the steel, the aluminum, the brass and copper \u2014 from all the different devices. They\u2019re drilling the computers open and tossing the parts into different piles, going right down to the circuit boards. And it\u2019s in the boards where there are very small amounts of precious metals like gold, silver and iridium. Here\u2019s how Tracy describes it.<br \/>\nTP: The concept of de-manufacturing is really reverse of manufacturing. So you can say, \u201cTear it apart\u201d but it\u2019s more methodical than that. So it\u2019s looking at particular category items, separating that material, doing it efficiently, doing it quickly, doing it in certain ways that it can then be processed further or shipped out to the next downstream vendor.<br \/>\nSUE: This is also how Traci\u2019s company makes money\u2026her facility takes e-waste (either for free, or sometimes she charges a small fee) from all sorts of clients, including public schools, local hospitals and government agencies.<br \/>\nTP (SOT): Yes, how many pallets do you have to pickup?<br \/>\nSUE: And then she sells the scrap metal and the other precious ones to recyclers.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: And there\u2019s a lot of non-metal, too...like the glass of a computer monitor, say, or plastic from a TV set?<br \/>\nSUE: Yeah, well, those are bad because they are full of lead -- especially the old TVs. Traci ships leftover glass to a lead smelter in Texas. And anything plastic goes to Tulsa\u2019s waste-to-energy facility, where it\u2019s actually converted into fuel.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: She\u2019s really serious about not landfilling anything.<br \/>\nSUE: Yeah, she really is. And that\u2019s what sets her apart.<br \/>\nTP: Recycling electronics irresponsibly creates more harm. So that\u2019s whether it\u2019s in the US or overseas.  When you are trying to process your own gold recovery, be it by fire or chemical process \u2014 it\u2019s extremely toxic. When you\u2019re taking just the higher value material, being the copper, and discarding the leaded glass, the mercury, into our water streams -- that creates a huge problem.<br \/>\nSUE: There are about only about 3,600 recyclers in the entire United States, and the unscrupulous ones ship this stuff to developing countries in Asia and Africa, where workers get paid sweatshop wages to smash and burn them.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: That sounds awful.<br \/>\nSUE: It is, it is -- both for the humans who are being exposed to toxic chemicals, and the environment. Traci\u2019s company is certified by a third party called E-Stewards, which means she adheres to strict environmentally responsible practices. And she is quite rare. When we spoke to her, Natural Evolution was one of only five certified companies to be led by a woman and the only one led by a person of Native American descent.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: That\u2019s great. Well, thanks so much for joining us, Sue.<br \/>\nSUE: That\u2019s a pleasure, Colleen.<\/p>\n<p>**musical interlude **<br \/>\nTP: We\u2019ve taken on some responsibilities and done some things that have cost us a lot of money but have done so because it was the right decision environmentally to do.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: We\u2019ve been sharing the story of Traci Phillips, whose Native American roots inspired her to start the e-waste recycling company Natural Evolution. The good news is that business took off, right from the start.<br \/>\nTP: Our first 18 months we were very fortunate in we won a particular job and we were able to realize a profit within the first year and were making good money. Our first few years really skyrocketed.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: But as many startup entrepreneurs can attest -- sometimes you can grow too quickly.<br \/>\nTP: Unfortunately, we weren\u2019t in a position that\u2026 we could manage that very well. We had all the wrong people in place. We didn\u2019t have the capital in place to be able to manage that growth.<br \/>\nNARRATOR:   Traci contracted with another company to help handle the volume. Then she learned it wasn\u2019t operating to her high standards.<br \/>\nTP: We ended up taking in about 23 semi-loads of material back, that we had already paid for, to have recycled properly and they didn\u2019t. And so in order to keep it from going into landfill we took it back. Even though it cost us a lot of money.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: It took years for Natural Evolution to recover financially. And then after that, the 2008 financial crisis hit\u2026 the company struggled as the price of commodities dropped. Once again, Traci had to ask her family for help. But today, things are better.<br \/>\nTP:  We\u2019ve made significant leaps and bounds and, and from a healthier company standpoint we\u2019re miles ahead of where we were.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: The company is making a profit on about $1 million dollars in annual revenue, and Traci recently opened a second plant with a partner, a Native tribe in Albuquerque. About 60 of her nearly 400 clients are Native tribes.<br \/>\nTP: Hopefully we\u2019re making more money for them and us in creating jobs. I am very focused on creating good jobs\u2026 wherever possible. I think it\u2019s important that people get up every day and do something that they believe in and are proud to do.<br \/>\nNARRATOR: Traci herself used to make MORE money when she worked for someone else in the tech industry. But today, as she recycles about 3 million pounds of e-waste a year, she is grateful to be making a dent in a global environmental problem -- even if it\u2019s a very small dent. She encourages other women who are inspired by a cause or mission to do the same.<br \/>\nTP: Face your fears\u2026 follow your passion. Get out and do [CHUCKLES].  I think women by nature can be very doubtful, a lot of self-doubt and it really brings us down. Don\u2019t succumb to the doubts.<br \/>\nOUTTRO: Join us next time to hear more stories about innovative and inspirational women doing the things you\u2019d never dream of. Or\u2026.maybe you would. This has been The Story Exchange. If you like what you\u2019ve heard, visit our website at TheStoryExchange.org, where you\u2019ll find news, videos and tips for women entrepreneurs.  I\u2019m Colleen DeBaise. Editing helped provided by Nusha Balyan. Production coordinator is Michelle Ciotta. Interview recorded by Sam Shinn. Executive producers are Sue Williams and Victoria Wang. <\/p>\n<\/p>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<!--\/.accordion-accordion_content-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can&#8217;t clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":27377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[20171,19683,20056],"class_list":["post-27375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-e-waste-management","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can&#039;t clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can&#039;t clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Story Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheStoryExchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-03T15:02:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-05T16:12:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"906\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"462\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Story Exchange\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheStoryXchange\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheStoryXchange\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Story Exchange\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess","description":"Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can't clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess","og_description":"Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can't clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.","og_url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/","og_site_name":"The Story Exchange","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheStoryExchange","article_published_time":"2016-02-03T15:02:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-06-05T16:12:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":906,"height":462,"url":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Story Exchange","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TheStoryXchange","twitter_site":"@TheStoryXchange","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Story Exchange"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/"},"author":{"name":"The Story Exchange","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/person\/cc5cf7031d846ecfccbe8e4c026ec6f5"},"headline":"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess","datePublished":"2016-02-03T15:02:22+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-05T16:12:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/"},"wordCount":78,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg","keywords":["E-waste Management","Entrepreneurship","Sustainability"],"articleSection":["Podcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/","url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/","name":"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg","datePublished":"2016-02-03T15:02:22+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-05T16:12:01+00:00","description":"Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can't clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24160839\/TP_906.jpg","width":906,"height":462,"caption":"(Credit: Natural Evolution)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/cleaning-ewaste-mess-traci-phillips-ep-09\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ep. 9: Cleaning Up Our E-Waste Mess"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/","name":"The Story Exchange","description":"Inspiration and information for women entrepreneurs","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#organization","name":"The Story Exchange","url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/24161459\/TSE-logo-web-e1525383604615.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn1.thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/24161459\/TSE-logo-web-e1525383604615.png","width":500,"height":180,"caption":"The Story Exchange"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheStoryExchange","https:\/\/x.com\/TheStoryXchange","https:\/\/instagram.com\/thestoryexchange\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-story-exchange","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/StoryExchange"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/#\/schema\/person\/cc5cf7031d846ecfccbe8e4c026ec6f5","name":"The Story Exchange","description":"The Story Exchange is a global video project empowering women to achieve economic independence through entrepreneurship. By producing and promoting video profiles of successful entrepreneurs from all walks of life and sectors we encourage others to gain economic freedom, create the lifestyle of their choosing, and uncover their full potential.","sameAs":["https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/about-us\/"],"url":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/author\/werock\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}