Recycling Club

Summary

Today's education programs cannot function and compete without the use of modern electronics. Unfortunately, these electronic tools become outdated within a relatively short period of time, and schools find themselves trying to properly manage this used, outdated and often inoperable equipment. Becoming "green" is the current standard by which all businesses and public institutions are now measured. Your school district or school building may even have Earth Clubs, Recycling Clubs or Green Clubs which promote and participate in programs for environmental awareness. For the past 20 years, the use of electronics in our homes, businesses and schools has skyrocketed and until recently, many of these materials have been put in our landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency states that as of 2007, electronics comprise two percent of our landfills totaling 2.5 million tons. Not only is this adding to the already over packed landfills, but many electronics contain heavy metals and industrial chemicals that could leach into our environment. What is your school district doing with the used electronic equipment? You may be surprised.

Concerns: Due to the high concentration of various hazardous materials in computers and electronic equipment, it is important to properly manage your disposal activities. Computer monitors may contain barium, cadmium or mercury, while circuit boards are typically found to have lead and silver. Computer motherboards often contain batteries, switches, sensors and relays. The batteries can contain mercury, cadmium, silver and lithium, while the switches may contain mercury, cadmium and precious metals like palladium, rhodium and platinum. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each cathode ray tube found in older computers contains on average 4 pounds of lead, and newer computers contain approximately 2 pounds. Finally, brominated flame retardant chemicals are widely used in plastic cases and cables. Fluorescent lamps contain a small amount of mercury that can accumulate over time in your dumpsters and our landfills.

Donate: It might be possible to donate some of this equipment to non-profit organizations or lower income schools and families, but this is not always possible and often time consuming. If you do choose this option, please make sure the equipment is reusable. Donation organizations often have limited resources to diagnose and repair equipment, especially outdated materials that now need special wiring or are loaded with licensed software. Many organizations will not take certain computers and electronics that do not have specific minimum specifications. Remember, there is always an end to the life of your electronics, and you should carefully consider if you are providing usable materials or just pushing your management issues off on somebody else.

Recycling: There are more and more recycling alternatives available every year. Many manufacturers are now taking back equipment, while some retail outlets are beginning return programs for certain items. There are various companies that only do recycling. All these resources should be used with caution and a determination of complete recycling should be completed. Some companies may say they recycle, but in actuality they are recycling only certain profitable components, while putting the remainder of the material (mostly plastics and hazardous items) into landfills. Other companies are even more unscrupulous and ship all of this waste to places like China or Eastern Europe, where fewer precautions are used and illegal dumping is wide spread. It should be understood that recycling does not always come free and there are often transportation, handling and recycling fees.

Fluorescent Lamps and Compact Fluorescent Lamps: There is continued confusion when it comes to the treatment or disposal of fluorescent lamps. ALL fluorescent lamps contain a small amount of mercury. The mercury vapor is used to produce ultraviolet energy which causes the phosphor in the lamp to fluoresce and emit visible light. In other words, without the mercury you would be without the light. To completely understand this management issue, it is necessary to look at federal and state regulations. When disposed, mercury is a Hazardous Waste, but many States, including Michigan allow mercury-containing fluorescent lamps to be treated as a Universal Waste as long as certain steps are taken. Universal Wastes reduce some rather stringent requirements mandated for Hazardous Wastes and encourage the proper management alternatives such as recycling. Because lamps can be classified as a Universal Waste, it does NOT mean you can put them in the trash. The EPA's web site provides an accurate summary of lamp concerns and best management practices. "While fluorescent lamps offer tremendous environmental advantages through energy savings, the disposal of used fluorescent lighting raises serious environmental concerns. Recycling spent mercury-containing lamps offers an environmentally sound alternative to expensive hazardous waste disposal. Recycling used fluorescent lamps is a good way to eliminate mercury emissions, as well as reduce waste and other toxic material disposal."

Service Options

Recycling Club for School Districts:

The arch environmental group and our safeEARTH Division are offering your school district an economical and safe way to manage your e-waste and your fluorescent lamps. The safeEARTH Recycling Club provides your school district with an environmentally friendly solution while at the same time involving your community and raising funds for your programs. Upon signing up for the safeEARTH's Recycling Club, you are one step closer to becoming truly green. For a yearly per-building fee your schools may deliver all e-waste and fluorescent lamps to the Recycling Club for proper recycling. Pricing and included items are available by contacting an arch environmental professional. You will not find a more cost effective way of properly recycling your e-waste and safely dealing with your fluorescent lamps.

Community Participation, Awareness & Fundraising:

What if you could receive a return on your recycling and raise money to support organizations like the Earth Club, Band or Soccer? In addition, you can increase community awareness and provide a source for individual participation. Because homeowners and residents are not required to recycle their e-waste, they often do not have an outlet for these materials when they are looking to properly recycle. The safeEARTH Recycling Club can be set up to allow individual Community Club memberships by selling safeEARTH Recycling Coupons. These coupons allow your tax paying community to also utilize these services by dropping off materials at their closest school. Clubs, teams and organizations can sell these coupons as fundraisers while at the same time doing the right thing for our kids' futures.

The safeEARTH Recycling Club has been structured in a way for your school district to indirectly recoup its costs by selling Club memberships (coupons) to individuals and families within your community. Not only is this a possible fund raising activity, but it is a way in which your school district can reach out to its community and provide an otherwise difficult outlet for proper recycling. We understand that it is often difficult to change people's habits and properly recycle, when the local garbage hauler will take it at the curb. At a cost of only $1.50 per coupon, which are sold in books of 5 coupons, and at a recommended selling price of $3.00 per coupon, or $15.00 per coupon book, it becomes affordable to make the right decision. At the recommended prices, if your 10 member Earth Club each sold 5 coupon books, they just raised $375.00 for their club. Community Club members can go to the nearest school with a coupon and drop off their e-waste or fluorescent lamp(s) by placing it into safeEARTH Recycling Club boxes, or dropping off computers and larger e-waste in the Receiving Room. Delivery can then be made to safeEARTH when transporting school waste.

The following documents are examples of materials used by students when participating in this green fundraising. The first is a brochure provided to individual consumers and the second and an example of a fundraising coupon sold.

Brochure (pdf document)
Coupon Example (pdf document)