Earth911.com’s November 24, 2008 issue ran a short feature on a record-breaking event that took place in New York City when 360,000 tons of e-waste was collected in one weekend.

New York’s Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg worked in partnership with NBC Universal in carrying out the “Green Screens” event where TVs, cellular phones, cameras, radios, telephones, and other electronic equipment and gadgets were collected by Electronic Recyclers International (or ERI) for free. ERI is the world’s largest recycler.

Michael Bloomberg stressed the importance of recycling but added that it is not only metal or glass, plastic or paper that can be recycled; electronics also need to be recycled especially since they form a big part of the waste stream. Michael Bloomberg further added that there is a great need for better strategies in “capturing” electronic wastes.

Michael Bloomberg, who was first known as a businessman, was born on February 14, 1942 in Boston. He grew up in a Jewish family of Russian and Polish descent.

Educated at Johns Hopkins University, Michael Bloomberg graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. He then went on to attend Harvard Business School where he received his Masters in Business Administration.

Michael Bloomberg set up his own company after being fired from Salomon Brothers where he received a severance pay of $10 million which he used to put up his own company called Innovative Market Systems. Merrill Lynch was one of the company’s first customers. In 1986, it was renamed to Bloomberg LP. After several more years, ancillary products cropped up including Bloomberg Tradebook, the Bloomberg Messaging Service, and the Bloomberg newswire. Bloomberg also set up a radio network.

Michael Bloomberg is among the world’s richest with Forbes estimating his 2008 net worth at $20 billion.

He is currently the mayor of New York City taking over the responsibilities left behind by Rudolph Guiliani. Michael Bloomberg assumed the New York City mayorship on January 01, 2002.

Unlike other mayors, Michael Bloomberg chose not to receive a city salary and does not live at the mayor’s mansion but in his Manhattan residence. He also claims to frequently take the New York City Subway especially when traveling from his Manhattan residence to the City Hall.

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