IU organizes electronic waste collection

Americans own approximately 24 electronic products per household, according to a 2008 study by the Consumer Electronics Association. For those who don’t know what to do with their unwanted electronics, IU is organizing its third annual Electronic Waste Collection Days to provide free recycling collection services for items such as hard drives, cell phones and televisions.

E-waste refers to consumer and business electronic equipment that is no
longer useful.

IU students, staff, faculty and the general public can drop off items from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 14 at the purple lot of Memorial Stadium. Items from public or private schools, universities other than IU, businesses and nonprofit organizations can be dropped off 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 12 and 13 in the same location.

Items that will be accepted include computer systems and accessories, handheld devices, audio and video equipment and office equipment. Lightbulbs, hairdryers, paper and cardboard will not be accepted. For a full list of what can be collected, visit http://ewaste.indiana.edu/.

Items dropped off by a representative from an IU department must follow special instructions found on the website.

None of the electronics will be resold and 100 percent of the received items will be kept out of landfills, according to the release. E-waste can contain toxic materials, such as lead found in cathode ray tubes in many TVs, that can harm the environment.

“Millions of pounds of electronic waste from Indiana residents and businesses end up in landfills every year,” said event organizer and sustainable computing graduate student, Gerrell Williams in the release.