If you are looking to recycle an old laptop, do not think about using the blue recycling bin next to your garbage can.
Simply throwing away electronics can be hazardous to the environment, as they end up in a landfill or an incinerator. And typical recycling plants do not process electronic waste. “E-waste” is the term used for electronic products and equipment that are no longer needed or wanted. It includes laptops, batteries, copy machines, hard drives, typewriters and microwaves, among others.
This leaves consumers in a difficult dilemma.
To meet this need, the U’s Sustainability Resource Center partnered with the U’s IT department, the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, Samsung and Metech, an electronic recycling company. Last Friday, the task force spent the morning collecting various e-waste in front of the V. Randall Turpin University Services Building.
The Sustainability Resource Center aims to make things easier for owners of electronics by making e-waste recycling more accessible to the public. Friday’s collection day, an annual event, marked the resource center’s fifth year of collecting e-waste.
“Most people were just really excited that we were doing the collection,” said Ayrel Clark-Proffitt, the education and outreach coordinator for the Sustainability Resource Center. “They’ve been holding onto their e-waste for a while and were excited to have a place to get rid of it.”
Clark-Proffitt estimated that in the four-hour drive, her team collected over 20,000 pounds of e-waste. Metech’s estimation is slightly higher at 23,000-25,000 pounds.
Clark-Proffitt said the donations came from more than 100 unique donors. The event was open to all Salt Lake City residents, but she said most of the donors were U faculty, staff or students.
After the e-waste was collected, Metech employees took it to their recycling plant off Redwood Road in Salt Lake City, where it will be treated. Metech breaks the items down before sending valuable parts to other recycling facilities that will reincorporate them into new electronics. Metech also sends hazardous materials to companies that specialize in dealing with them.
Clark-Proffitt said along with helping the environment, recycling your e-waste can also improve your personal security.
“[Metech] shreds your hard drives so that no one can read them,” she said. “I think that’s cool.”
Students interested in recycling their e-waste can find lists of collection sites on the U’s website, as well as through the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.
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@allisonoctober