May 2, 2003
For Immediate Release
REDUCE TOXINS BY RECYCLING ELECTRONICS
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Green Star will be hosting the first Electronics Recycling Event during Anchorage’s Citywide Cleanup, which will provide businesses and households a convenient, affordable and environmentally friendly means of recycling old electronic equipment. All material collected will be sent to a recycler in the Lower 48, where more than 95 percent of the material by weight will be recycled into new products.
Based on the results of 486 recycling programs across the U.S. over the past three years, a city the size of Anchorage can expect to collect between 87,000 to 175,000 pounds of electronics from a one-day event. “We anticipate being on the high end of the scale,” said Sean Skaling of Green Star. This estimate is based on the knowledge that Alaska has the highest per capita computer ownership of any state, and that government and private organizations will be allowed to participate.
The sheer volume and toxicity of the electronic wastestream is causing problems across the country, of which, computers make up a large percentage. An expected forty
million computer monitors and TVs will become obsolete in the U.S. this year alone. By 2004, it is estimated that 315 million computers will have been thrown away. Approximately 97% of a computer by weight is made up of glass, plastic, iron, and aluminum. The remaining 3% is composed of dozens of other metals and compounds.
The risks associated with the more than 30 distinct materials that make up a personal computer are numerous. Lead, cadmium, barium, chromium, and mercury are among the most harmful, with the most widespread danger coming from lead. The average computer weighs 60 pounds, and contains between 3.5 and 7 pounds of lead. Televisions and video display terminals also contain harmful levels of lead. Approximately 70% of the heavy metals and 40% of the lead found in landfills comes from discarded consumer electronics.
The two-day Electronics Recycling Event will be held between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm at the former Carrs store located on 901 E. Dimond Blvd. (corner of Dimond and Old Seward). Business electronics can be dropped off on Friday, May 9th, with household items being accepted Saturday, May 10th. Fees for monitors and TVs will be $5 for households and $15 for businesses. All other electronics will be charged by weight, with households paying 5¢ per pound, and businesses paying 30¢ per pound.
A sampling of electronics that will be accepted include computer monitors, televisions, computers/laptops, faxes, printers, photocopiers, phones, electronic games, media, and other items with a circuit board. Household appliances, smoke detectors, loose batteries, and other electronics without circuit boards will not be collected.
This event is made possible by the generous support of BP, a major grant from Anchorage Solid Waste Services, and donated services from TOTE, Horizon Lines, Weaver Brothers, Carrs-Safeway, the Anchorage Daily News, Odom Corporation, Phillip Services Corporation, Anchorage Refuse and many other local businesses. These donations have helped reduce the costs of recycling to the public during this event.
For more detailed information or if your interested in volunteering, please contact Green Star at 278-7827, email info@greenstarinc.org, or visit Green Star’s web site at www.greenstarinc.org.
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