E-Waste Collection Days mark final year

Electronic Waste Collection Days took place on the IU’s Bloomington and South Bend campuses on May 10 and 11. The collection days kept more than 500,000 pounds of electronic waste out of landfills this past spring, according to a press release.

Both campuses collected 521,003 pounds total, with 141,070 pounds coming from IU Bloomington and 379,933 pounds from IU South Bend. The total amount of waste gathered from these collection days since their creation five years ago is 2.78 million pounds.

This year marked the final year of E-Waste Collection Days at IU Bloomington as other local entities, including the District and the City of Bloomington, are now offering free collection and recycling of electronic waste. Organizers say the fact that the event is ending is a sign of success, according to the release.

“E-Waste Days was conceived by a student sustainability intern five years ago to answer an urgent need for responsible and convenient recycling of this hazardous material,” said Bill Brown, director of the IU Bloomington Office of Sustainability, in the release. “We are pleased that options for local, free, certified, year-round e-waste recycling have been developed to render this event unnecessary.”

Brown said the Office of Sustainability is grateful to campus and community partners, Apple Inc. and all volunteers who made E-Waste Days a success, according to the release.

The collection days provided individuals and institutions with an opportunity for free disposal of all types of electronic devices and equipment and has taken place annually at IU Bloomington and IU South Bend, according to the release, and at IUPUI in 2009 and 2011.

The Center for a Sustainable Future at IU South Bend plans to continue the e-waste event through next year, according to the release. Mike Keen, director of the center said participation remains strong despite other organizations in the South Bend area offering e-waste recycling.

The District, formerly the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District, in Bloomington contracts with Electronics Recyclers International, the largest recycler of e-waste in North America, to recycle electrical components into metals, plastic and glass, according to the release. Since January 2013, the District has accepted electronic waste free of charge at five drop-off recycling centers.

“Both the District and ERI specialize in the environmentally safe and socially responsible recycling of electronic waste,” Larry D. Barker, executive director of the District, said in the release. “The public can be assured that all electronic devices are properly recycled. No electronics are placed in landfills, and nothing is illegally exported to other countries.”

Serve IT, an information-technology clinic at the IU School of Informatics and Computing accepts usable electronic equipment donations. Serve IT can refurbish items for reuse by community organizations. E-waste is also collected once or twice a year through the City of Bloomington sanitation department.

-Makenzie Holland