University Facilities and Service’s sixth annual E-Cycle Day took place on October 25th and collected 25,000 pounds of unwanted electronics to recycle. The event ran from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Park Lot, where University faculty, students, and staff dropped off broken or old electronics. The devices were collected by Sunnking, a Brockport based electronics recycling company, who carted them off to their recycling plant.
The event functioned smoothly as items were unloaded quickly and efficiently from arriving vehicles. Volunteers brought each item to wooden pallets, where the devices were wrapped and loaded onto the Sunnking truck. There were individual pallets for printers, televisions, laptops, LCD televisions, LCD monitors, and power cords. There was also a box for items that the company will sell on their eBay page, thereby reusing what they can before recycling.
By the end of the day, 25,000 pounds of electronics had been collected. Though quite an impressive number, this is a few thousand less pounds than last year, due to the fact that electronics are becoming lighter and lighter with developing technologies. Specifically, one of the heaviest items at the event previously, CRT TVs, are decreasing every year as they are being replaced with lighter, flat screen televisions. Nevertheless, thousands of devices were still disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Sunnking employees expressed that the event went extremely well. They shared that the event was so effective in part because of the fact that it reached a great number of people, with the University of Rochester being the largest employer in the area. The event’s success is also credited to good planning, promotion, logistics, and coordination.
The day was sustainably beneficial by diverting thousands of pounds of waste from entering landfills and because it raises awareness that the option to recycle electronics is available and effective. In Rochester, for example, ecopark is an electronics recycling destination for Monroe County residents to drop off their unwanted devices. So if you missed E-Cycle Day or have more devices you would like to dispose of, ecopark and other local electronic recycling programs are a great resource.
Along with Sunnking employees and University Facilities and Services employees, the brothers of Delta Upsilon contributed their time and effort to making the event a success for a fourth year in a row. For pictures of the event check out the UR Sustainable Facebook page.
Recycling coordinator, Amy Kadrie would like to thank Sunnking, the volunteers who helped with the event, and everyone who brought items in for recycling. “I am so proud to be a part of this event and offer a convenient service to our University community members. The University is committed to recycling and we are glad to extend the same service out for personally owned items.”
Written by Abigail Fagan, class of 2014
