IU collects electronic waste

IU sponsored its fourth Electronic Waste Collection Day on Saturday in an effort to collect used electronics and educate Bloomington residents on proper disposal.

IU’s Bloomington and South Bend campuses participated in the event.

“Old TV sets, monitors, stereos, it was quite a haul,” said Susan Coleman Morse, senior communications and sustainability specialist at University Information Technology Services.

“In the four years, we’ve collected over 2 million pounds of electronic waste.”

Coleman Morse said 385,000 pounds of electronics were collected Saturday, about 15,000 pounds fewer than in years past.

She credited the decrease in donation to more opportunities in the community to manage solid waste.

“In the past people were probably cleaning out their basements,” Coleman Morse said.
“Now, hopefully, they’re in a cycle of cleaning up.”

Apple Inc. provided the labor and resources necessary to ensure collection went smoothly.

Serve IT attended the event to collect “electronics with a little life left in them.” The organization refurbishes and donates items to local nonprofits, such as Middle Way House.

“Just because you see something set up at the mall doesn’t mean you should recycle there,” Coleman Morse said.

“As a consumer or as a citizen you should really be asking, ‘Where are these items going?’”

The University screens the “downstream vendors” that handle the electronic waste to make sure items are properly disposed.

“These items contain toxic materials like lead and mercury, things that we do not want in our land or our soil,” Coleman Morse said. “Our priority has been to establish a protocol at IU to ensure that our tech items are handled properly.”

— Nona Tepper