Ever wanted to get even with your cell phone, computer or TV? Here’s your chance.
University Neighbors is sponsoring an “e-cycling” event at which you can discard pesky pieces of electronics while ensuring they are properly recycled.
In the case of computer hard drives, you can even have them “degaussed” down to a data-less magnetic strip before being shipped off. This process ensures data is permanently destroyed. It costs $10 per hard drive, but you get an official “certificate of destruction” to memorialize the act.
How’s that for revenge? It’s also a good way to empty the garage or basement of old fax machines, copiers, printers, monitors, stereos, VCRs, mice, keyboards and laptops that have been collecting dust.
“E-cycling is an environmentally friendly and convenient way to dispose of electronics that may contain toxic materials and certainly don’t belong in a landfill,” says Liz Ullman, who is spearheading the e-cycling as a fundraiser for University Neighbors.
The neighborhood group has arranged for Action Recycling Center of Wheat Ridge, Colo., an EPA-sanctioned handler of universal waste, to bring their collection vehicles to the parking lot at Asbury Elementary on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m.¬–noon. The school is one block north of Evans Avenue between Marion and Lafayette streets.
University Neighbors, a registered neighborhood organization, asks for a minimum $10 donation per household for recycled electronics, including tapes and batteries. Items that won’t be accepted are fluorescent bulbs or devices containing mercury or Freon.
“The money we make from recycling electronics is to bring neighbors together and make sure things are recycled correctly,” Ullman says.
Last spring, the group held a Shred-a-Thon for document disposal. The event raised about $1,200, Ullman says, some of which paid for a community pie and ice cream social and some of which will go to future projects.
“The goal of University Neighbors is neighbor-to-neighbor projects, forming networks for snow-shoveling, crime alerts, that sort of thing,” she says.
The electronics recycling idea came from people dropping off documents at the Shred-a-Thon.
For more information, visit www.univneighbors.org or www.actionrecyclingcenter.com or call 303-733-1442.