IUB, IUPUI to recycle electronic waste

IU Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis will sponsor free Electronic Waste Collection Days from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Saturday.

Students, faculty and the general public are invited to drop off their unwanted electronics at the Memorial Stadium parking lot at 17th and North Dunn streets or at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.

Businesses and organizations, which have already registered to recycle 400,000 pounds of electronic waste during the next three days, are asked to register in advance at indiana.poweron.com/p/register.

Graduate student Laura Knudsen helped organize the E-waste Collection Days with the IU Task Force on Campus Sustainability and has been spreading awareness of E-waste.

“Computers and cell phones still have valuable products,” Knudsen said. “If you’re just throwing them away, you’re wasting valuable materials.”

Electronic waste, or E-waste, includes unwanted computers, monitors, TVs, radios, cameras, printers and cell phones; a full listing of acceptable items is available at indiana.poweron.com.

E-waste can have hazardous materials in it that can be harmful to the environment if not disposed of properly. Television sets and computer monitors can contain mercury or lead.

Recycling old electronics helps save energy and keeps E-waste out of underdeveloped countries.

The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that much of the electronic waste
discarded in the United States ends up in developing countries that do not have environmental or labor laws.

There, the electronics are processed by “sham” recyclers. “Sham” recyclers often exploit workers and process parts that might contain personal information, fueling the identity theft market, according to IU’s E-waste Web site.

All E-waste collected during the next three days will be transported to Sims Recycling Solutions in Chicago. All materials with personal information will be shredded. Apple is providing all the recycling services.

The E-waste Collection Days are a continuation of IU’s ongoing initiative for sustainability. According to the 2008 Sustainability Task Force report, “total waste generation has been at about 6,800 tons per year with 4,900 tons going to landfills and 1,900 tons of waste recycled each year.”

Although many people have become more conscious of the environment in recent years, E-waste is often overlooked – something Knudsen knows far too well.

“When I mention E-waste, a lot of people don’t know what it means,” Knudsen said. “It’s obviously a problem.”