TAMPA — Our day-to-day life revolves around technology, and many of your devices contain materials that are harmful for the environment if not disposed of properly.

What You Need To Know

  • Electronic waste accounts for 70% of the hazardous waste that is deposited into landfills, that’s according to E-Cycle Florida

  • Tony Selvaggio opened E-Smart Recycling to shine light on the importance of recycling electronics and their impact if they aren’t recycled

  • He’s takes computers that are fixed and donates them to organizations where students don’t have access to computers

According to eCycle Florida, electronic waste accounts for 70 percent of the hazardous waste that is deposited into landfills. 

For Tony Selvaggio, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

“Look at this very old iPhone, one of the first-gen iPhones,” he says.

The items in the buckets he displayed were once the latest gadgets. But as technology advanced, the items were left behind.

It’s why he opened his own company, ‘E-Smart Recycling.’

“This year we are processing about half a million pounds of electronics,” Selvaggio said.

He previously lived in Venezuela and worked in the scrap metal industry. That experience propelled him into the electronic waste field.

It starts with buckets filled to the rim with hard drives, phones, and computers. They’re donated and then recycled at his warehouse.

“We need to understand that even though this is only about only 2% of the waste that we produce as a society, it represents almost 80% of the toxic waste,” Selvaggio said.

Hard drives are removed from laptops and put into the shredder to ensure the data on them is protected.

But the laptops still have a purpose, Selvaggio said.

“By providing an opportunity to get rid of your trash by just thinking outside of the box, you can turn an old piece of device into an instrument, into a catalyst for change for someone who doesn’t have access to technology.”

His lack of access to technology growing up, and his desire to protect the environment, pushed him to give back.

Since 2016, he’s provided over 3,000 computers to organizations like AMRoC Fablab.

“This is a perfect case study of what community looks like when community thrives when access to technology is there in a sustainable way,” he says.

The computers provide access to the internet and software that can help students like Otavio Vidigal pursue career paths in technology.

“It’s amazing because it’s an opportunity for those don’t have a computer or access to the computer, and here you have the laptops and machines to learn,” Otavio said.

It’s more than just junk for Selvaggio said. The machines bridge gaps in his community.

“Next time you’re getting ready to throw something like this away, do not throw it in the garbage,” he said.

With each item that comes through his warehouse, his goal is to change the cycle by showing the benefits of what some may call “trash.”

Partners like the AMRoC FabLab in Tampa also contribute to the E-Smart Recycling company by collecting old technology that can in turn be recycled for more students in the area.