Green Star now houses the Alaska Materials Exchange. This web-based, interactive system allows businesses, oganizations and individuals to list unwanted items, including computer equipment in working order for reuse. Anyone looking for such items can log on and identify needed items. All exchanges are made directly between users. This site allows for year-round exchange of equipment, keeping unwanted equipment that could not be stored until spring out of the landfill, and reducing the rate of new equipment purchases. Additional benefits include the ability to sell equipment with value, the immediacy of new equipment postings, and the ability for donor and recipient to make convenient arrangements for the transfer of goods.

Green Star is not responsible for any information on computers exchanged through the Alaska Materials Exchange. Additionally, be sure to make it clear to the recipient whether you intend to transfer the software licenses of any software contained in the computer to keep you compliant with your software agreements.

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Non-Profits Recycle At A Discounted Rate

Thanks again to the Rasmuson Foundation, Alaskan non-profit organizations will be able to recycle their electronics waste at a reduced price for the next three years. The goal of Rasmuson’s assistance to non-profit organizations is to reduce the cost burden on non-profits as they work toward budgeting for managing scrap electronics in an environmentally safe manner.

The three-year plan also provides flexibility in where and when non-profits recycle. Non-profits can bring electronics to a local recycler, paying full price up front (typically 30¢ to 55¢ per pound). The non-profit will receive a receipt from the recycler, which it can then submit to Green Star for reimbursement of part of the cost. During the first year of the program, non-profits will receive back 30¢ per pound. In year 2, the discount will be 25¢ per pound and in year 3, 20¢ per pound.

The program begins this month and runs through June 2009. The discount is available for 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organizations. Non-profits with budgets of more than $3 million are ineligible for the program. Please contact Green Star if you are not sure that your organization qualifies.

Below is a list of recyclers in Anchorage that will accept electronics from non-profits. Call the individual recyclers for details about pick-ups and the associated fees if interested.

Clean Harbors
Anchorage Regional Landfill, Eagle River
428-1742

Total Reclaim, Inc.
12101 Industry Way, Unit C4 (Huffman Business Park)
561-0544

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National Recycling Programs

Costco Trade-In and Recycle Program
Costco members can use this program, even in Alaska. It is free for qualifying equipment, including UPS shipment, and users may receive a Costco cash card for valued equipment.

Hewlett Packard Recycling Service
Information about returns for recycling of hardware of any kind.

IBM PC Recycling Service
Information about sending electronic equipment to IBM for reuse or recycling.

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Cell Phone Recycling

Recellular, Inc.
2555 Bishop Circle West
Dexter, MI 48130
734-205-2222
http://www.recellular.com
Recellular, Inc., accepts cell phones, as well as toner cartridges, small and large quantities. For larger quantities, rebates are given, depending on the condition of the phones. Recellular can help you set up a collection program to benefit a charitable organization.

RESTART
http://www.restartphones.com
Donate your used cell phone to this program that benefits The Children's Organ Transplant Association. Bring your phone to any Cellular One retail location or donate online.

The Charitable Recycling Program
794-A Industrial Court
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
http://www.charitablerecycling.org
Mail your cell phones to this organization and they will make a charitable donation.

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Media Recycling

Floppy diskettes, CDs, DVDs, audio and video tapes are all secondary waste items generated when we use electronics. As they wear out or become obsolete with the introduction of new media, they too need to be managed properly.

One easy recycling option to ship your media to GreenDisk (www.greendisk.com). GreenDisk accepts most types of electronic media for recycling, including CDs, DVDs, computer diskettes, video and audio tapes, as well as cell phones and inkjet toner cartridges. The web site has full shipping instructions. The program costs the consumer the price of shipping plus an additional 10¢ per pound. There is a minimum charge of $5 or 50 pounds.

One hundred percent of the money that you pay to ship your waste materials (beyond the post office’s costs) is donated to charity. GreenDisk makes all of its money through the sale of products, e.g., its reformatted disks and tapes. The workshops where materials are sorted, reformatted, relabeled, and repackaged are staffed by a group of disabled workers who keep all money from the shipping fees.

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Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Recycling

As of January 29, 2007, cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are not considered hazardous waste if they are managed for recycling. CRTs are the video display components of televisions and computer monitors. The glass in CRTs typically contains enough lead to require managing it as hazardous waste under certain circumstances.

On January 29th, CRTs officially became Universal Wastes, for which federal hazardous waste management requirements are streamlined. In Alaska, that means the new management regulations are in place immediately since no State agency needs to implement them.

The revised standards are designed to increase the collection and recycling of CRTs, which, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), will save energy, conserve resources and enable the recovered lead to be reused to reduce the amount of lead in landfills. About 57 million computers and televisions are sold in the U.S. annually, although many new models may not contain CRTs.

Under the new regulations, used, unbroken CRTs are not regulated as hazardous waste unless they are stored for more than a year. The U.S. EPA revised the standards for unbroken CRTs because the risk of lead releases is very low. Limited storage requirements apply only to CRT recyclers and collectors.

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Electronic Equipment Disposal Regulations