University of Michigan faculty and staff, along with the local community, collected an estimated 230 tons of electronic waste to be recycled at a recent annual e-waste event.
More than 4,400 vehicles passed through the drop-off locations during the three-day event, May 5-7. Local businesses, nonprofit organizations and the public filled 23 semi-trailers with broken or unwanted electronics.
“Each year the U-M campus and the local community help keep our landfills clear of harmful materials by disposing of electronics in an environmentally safe way,” said Barbara Hagan, sustainability administrator in the Office of Campus Sustainability. “It has been truly exciting to see the amount of materials being recycled grow each year.”
Since 2008 the event has filled a combined total of 172 semi-trailers, diverting nearly 2,030 tons of electronic waste from local landfills. The event is sponsored by the Office of Campus Sustainability at U-M and Ann Arbor Public Schools.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, e-waste continues to be a fast-growing municipal waste stream in America. Rapid changes in technology, changes in media devices and falling prices have contributed to this surplus of waste. It is estimated that for each new product introduced in the market, one or more becomes outdated or obsolete.
This effort supports the university’s broad commitment to sustainability education, research, operations and community engagement, known as Planet Blue.
Beth Speer
This is a Wonderful Program. We were able to E-Cycle 7 Televisions, 2 desktop and 3 laptop computers. The staff were Amazing, they never stopped and were very kind. Not only was it a great experience but we were able to safely dispose of electronics and not have to worry about our data being compromised. Thank you for this outstanding program.
Greg Long
On average, electronic devices yield about 10 troy ounces of gold, per 1 ton of electronic equipment waste. Sticking with that number “10 ounces”; 2300 ounces of GOLD was recovered. This morning gold is valued at $1275 per ounce. Someone just recovered $2,932,500 in Gold. ( I’ll just leave this right here, to think about )
Barbara Hagan
While it is true that gold (and other precious metals) are recovered, your estimate in the value assumes that all of the weight is from circuit boards. The majority of the weight from equipment that is received during the event is from monitors and TV’s. This equipment is mostly plastic and glass. The precious metals are recovered in the recycling process and that helps the environment because they can be reused in the manufacturing process vs mined from the earth. The value doesn’t come close to covering the cost of this event.
Steven Hewlett
Can you tell me where the electronics I dropped off will end up? I would like to be assured they will not be exported to a facility where workers will be exposed to the toxic chemicals we are trying to protect ourselves from.
Barbara Hagan
The equipment is sent to R-2 certified recycling facilities within the US to be separated into the individual materials for future manufacturing. The separation is done by shredder in most cases.
Kari Dumbeck
I’ve used this service three times now since it started and I say, KUDOS! to all that help out. It was quick and easy. Thank you, thank you!!!
jill edwards
I was afraid to bring my old computer, because I did not know how to get rid of all my information on it. Do you destroy the hard drive?
Linda Novitski
We dropped off some items at this event, but now have more to recycle and I am moving out of the state soon so I can’t wait until next year. Can the organizers of this event recommend another place to drop off electronics for recycling in the area that ensures environmentally responsible management of the waste?