UH to Hold Ewaste Recycling Events in October

The University of Hawai‘i will hold free electronics ewaste recycling at UH-Hilo and other campuses statewide during October 2012.

This is the fourth installment of the biennial education and government ewaste disposal days program, which provides an opportunity for safe and environmentally friendly disposal of unwanted ewaste.

All equipment collected is processed in an environmentally responsible method and recycled into commodity grade materials.

Per the Consumer Electronics Association, Americans now own approximately 24 electronic products per household, with businesses using an even higher rate of machines.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that when electronics reach their end of use most are discarded into landfills, where some of their components may cause serious public health or environmental contamination problems.

The university has collected a total of 4.25 million pounds of ewaste during the three previous ewaste recycling events in 2006, 2008, and 2010, according to Larry Wiss, communications officer for information technology services at the University of Hawaii.

Collection of equipment will be conducted between October 25 and October 27 at UH-Hilo. A drop off site at Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona will also be provided by the Hawai‘i State Department of Education in support of the recycling effort.

The education and government ewaste disposal days program is open to:

• All public or private schools or universities

• All county, state or federal/military branches

• Small to medium sized businesses (with less than 100 employees)

• Non-profit organizations

• Hawai‘i household residents

Pre-registration is required through the UH program’s webpage for schools, small businesses, non-profits, or government offices that wish to drop off equipment on October 25th or 26th; no registration is required for household residents to recycle their unwanted personal electronic ewaste on Saturday, October 27.

All recycling and disposal services for the program are provided courtesy of Apple.

Visit the program’s webpage for an announcement of collection times and information concerning the types of equipment accepted: http://www.hawaii.edu/ewaste.