Indiana University Plans Free E-Waste Recycling May 11 and 12

Indiana University will conduct its fourth Electronic Waste Collection Days on May 11 and 12, giving individuals, schools, nonprofit organizations and businesses an opportunity for free and environmentally responsible disposal of obsolete computers and other electronic items.

E-waste collection events are scheduled at IU Bloomington and at IU South Bend. At both campuses, organizations and businesses can drop off items for recycling on Friday, May 11, and individuals can participate on Saturday, May 12.

The City of Bloomington will join the university for the first time to co-sponsor IU Bloomington E-Waste Collection Days, contributing the resources of its sanitation department and housing and neighborhood development department to the initiative.

“We’re excited to have the City of Bloomington on board helping provide this important service,” said Susan Coleman Morse, sustainability project manager with University Information and Technology Services. “Recycling and reusing computers and electronic equipment not only protects the environment; it also preserves valuable resources and reduces energy consumption. E-waste Collection Days has received positive feedback from the community in the past, and we are happy to be sponsoring this event again this year.”

At IU Bloomington, equipment that is in working order will be donated to Serve IT, a community information technology clinic at the IU School of Informatics and Computing. This includes equipment that can be refurbished and placed in a nonprofit organization, such as computers, monitors, mice, keyboards, routers, switches and cabling.

IU Bloomington Electronic Waste Collection Days

• Sponsored by: City of Bloomington and IU’s Office of Sustainability and University Information Technology Services; site host is IU Department of Athletics.
• Where: Purple parking lot to the north of Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
• When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 11 for schools, universities, businesses and nonprofits; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 12 for the general public.

IU South Bend E-Waste Recycling Fest

• Sponsored by: IU South Bend Center for a Sustainable Future.
• Where: IUSB parking lot at Vine and 20th streets.
• When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 11 for businesses and organizations; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 12 for the general public.
• More information: www.iusb.edu/csfuture/ewaste.php

For complete information about the events, including lists of items that are acceptable, visit ewaste.indiana.edu. Schools, nonprofits and businesses should register in advance at indiana.poweron.com. Indiana University departments and managers of IU-owned equipment must follow university guidelines, available online.

None of the electronics will be processed for resale, and any equipment that could contain sensitive data will be shredded. One hundred percent of the equipment that is dropped off will be recycled and kept out of landfills. Recycling services are provided by Apple Inc.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 2.37 million tons of computers, TVs and other electronic equipment were discarded in the U.S. in 2009. Only about 25 percent of items were recycled.

Some constituents of e-waste, such as lead, nickel, cadmium and mercury, can pose risks to health and the environment if not properly managed. Also, reusing and recycling e-waste reduces impacts and energy demands from mining and manufacturing. For example, recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy used by 3,657 U.S. households a year. Recycling a ton of circuit boards yields up to 800 times as much gold and 30 to 40 times as much copper as mining a ton of raw ore.

The first IU Electronic Waste Collection Days program, planned and carried out by interns with the IU Office of Sustainability, took place in April 2009.