International Electronics Recycling Conference and Expo’s Ismail Oyekan and Environmental Graffiti’s Chris Ingham Brooke

Ismail Oyekan, who has a long history in the electronic waste industry, founded the International Electronics Recycling Conference and Expo after realizing there was no ceiling to the industry’s potential. The conference and expo brings people together from all over the world to see the importance of recycling and reuse.

“I realized there weren’t too many outlets where people could learn about [the e-waste] industry and the dynamics of it,” Oyekan says. “The reality is that it’s an emerging industry, so I wanted to create a platform for the industry to come together to brainstorm and speak about trends going on in the industry.”

This year’s conference and expo, the second annual event, will take place May 26-27 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel in the Bay Area. Oyekan made the decision to move the event from Los Angeles to the Bay Area to capitalize on the great technological minds in the Silicon Valley area.

In the second half of the show, John and Mike welcome Chris Ingham Brooke, CEO and founder of EnvironmentalGraffiti.com. Brooke, who is just 22 years old, came up with the concept in 2006 upon realizing that the green space was sorely lacking in social networking and blogging outlets.

Environmental Graffiti enables any user to visit the site, contribute content and and share with other users. By its second month online, the site had 250,000 visitors. It is now averaging well over 2 million visitors.

“If ever you have woken up and thought of writing something for millions of people to see it, Environmental Graffiti is the place to be,” Brooke says. “We’re focused on stuff that spreads the message about nature and the environment.”

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