Village of Westmont
Date Issued: September 06, 2013
The Westmont Park District and Westmont Boy Scout Troop 6 have joined forces to host a special electronics recycling event at Ty Warner Park on the southwest corner of Plaza Drive and Blackhawk Drive. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 21 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Troop 6 Scout Michael Donahue helped initiate this event as part of an Eagle Scout Special Project. Below is text from a document that Michael created outlining the importance of electronics recycling.
The event is free and the following items will be accepted:
Computers, Laptops, Monitors, LCDs, Cell Phones, Printers, Scanners, Modems, CD Drives, Cables, Mouse & Keyboards, Televisions, VCR’s, DVD Players, Camcorders, Cameras, Game Players & Joysticks, Telephones, Pagers, Answering Machines, Typewriters, Calculators, Adding Machines, Fax Machines, and Copiers
Vintage Tech staff members, the Boy Scouts, and adult volunteers will staff the event and assist with the collection. To learn more about electronics recycling, visit www.vintagetechrecyclers.com
The following text was prepared by Troop 6 Eagle Scout Michael Donahue
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THE RISKS AND REWARDS OF PROPER DISPOSAL
Do you have old, outdated computers and electronics taking up space in your home, apartment, storage locker or garage? Before you discard them, there are several things you should know:
PERSONAL SECURITY - Computers, laptops, printers, and even photocopiers have stored data which often includes sensitive information including bank account information, credit cards and credit sensitive information, as well as tax information which could lead to identity theft and fraud if discovered by criminals. Proper disposal by a certified electronics recycling company* will provide for the destruction of the memory devices within these electronics to eliminate the risks associated with identity theft and fraud.
PRECIOUS METAL CONSERVATION - Many of the components within your computers and electronic devices contain traces of precious metals including gold and silver which if sent to a landfill would be Wasted and gone forever.
PLASTICS, STEEL, ALUMINUM AND GLASS - These materials cost a great deal to produce including the cost for mining and transporting of raw materials as well as electricity consumption to manufacture. Furthermore, the cost to replace these materials and added pollution to replenish them is high and more expensive than recycling. It is important to note that nearly 60% of electronics can be reused and another 38% can be fully recycled back to its original state.
HAZARDOUS AND TOXIC MATERIALS - Most electronics contain hazardous and toxic materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium which are truly bad for our landfills and environment. Proper disposal of these materials is important for the health of our environment as well as the health of our future generations. It is important to prevent these toxins and hazardous materials from impacting our food chain and our water supply.
LANDFILLS - Landfills are a precious commodity too. As populations and cities grow, we continue to run out of space for unwanted, discarded materials. Filling up the Iandfills with computers and electronics is irresponsible.
NOTE - Certified Electronics Recycling Companies such as Vintage Tech Recyclers have strict controls and procedures to insure your hard drives and storage devices are securely destroyed.
Fast Facts about electronics and the need to recycle:
* In the United States, between 300 million and 400 million electronic items become obsolete each year, and less than 20 percent of that e-waste is recycled.
* Cathode ray tubes in older TVs and computers typically contain 4-7 pounds of lead in each unit.
* It is energy efficient to rebuild old computers, but only about 2 percent of PCs ever their way to a second user.
* Recycling one million desktop computers prevents the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions of 16,000 passenger cars.
* Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem. Most electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including metals that can be recovered for future uses.
* Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 US homes in a year.
* By keeping electronics out of landfills, responsible recycling reduces energy demands from mining and manufacturing.
* One metric ton of circuit boards can contain 40 to 800 times the amount of gold and 30 to 40 times the amount of copper mined from one metric ton of ore in the U.S.
* By recycling 100 million cell phones, approximately 7,500 pounds of gold could be recovered - allowing that amount of gold to go into new products. Recovering the gold from cell phones, rather than mining it from the earth, would prevent 12 billion pounds of loose soil, sand and rock from having to be moved, mined and processed.
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Contact: Larry McIntyre
Village of Westmont Media Relations Coordinator
630-417-0280, lmcintyre@westmont.il.gov
