Municipal Governments Recognized For E-Waste Efforts

Several state and local governments were awarded honors in the 2012 State Electronics Challenge. This was a national contest geared at municipalities looking to reduce their electronics and find cost effective and environmentally friendly ways to dispose and recycle unwanted and unusable materials and e-waste. The contest was sponsored by the Northeast Recycling Council with financial support from electronics manufacturers such as Panasonic, Samsung, Sims Recycling, and the Consumer Electronics Association.

Top winners in the contest included the City of Providence Public Schools, in Rhode Island; DuPage County municipal offices, in Illinois; Manitou Springs School System, in Colorado; and Regional Technology Cooperative, in State College, Pennsylvania.

Additional awards were issues to the City of La Crosse, in Wisconsin; the Vermont Natural Resources Agency; the City of Tacoma, in Washington; and the Ohio Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Through the combined efforts of all participating city and state agencies, the collective amount of hazardous e-waste properly disposed of and recycled exceeded one hundred and fifty tons.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Properly disposing of and recycling electronics waste is important. However, if you’re a business owner, you know how easy it is to “stockpile” outdated equipment in a storage closet because you’re not sure what to do with it! Contact your local or regional environmental and sanitation offices to learn about special e-waste disposal days and give that closet a cleaning!