The Traveler

Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Lael Simons Gary Endson, coordinator for recycling at the UA, sorts out newspapers on the horizontal baler. He is an advocate of the new Green-Fed program that would allow students to recycle old electronics, including computers.

Dumping electronics in landfills was banned by Arkansas in 2005, according to the Arkansas Legislation Web site. Arkansas is now offering another option for eliminating unwanted electronics.

A recycling program, called Green Fed II, was created by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and UNICOR, a government group.

Now, with Green Fed II, students can send any electronic item to be reused or recycled for free. Green Fed II is often nicknamed the "e-scrap recycling program."

So where are most out-dated cell phones laid to rest? For the law-abiding citizen, the answer is "anywhere but the land-fill." However, some students said they didn't know what do to with their outdated gadgets.

To recycle an electronic device, one can print off a prepaid UPS sticker, place the device in a box and drop it off at a local UPS store.

"Most people will find it troublesome," said sophomore Korinna Torres. "But more people would be willing if they know the effects [recycling] has."

Computers tend to contain hazardous material, such as cadmium and lead, especially in the monitors, said Gary Enzor, recycling coordinator for the UA.

Green Fed II is an opportunity to divert this material from the landfill, he said. "Anything that goes into the landfill can potentially reach water sources as well."

The program is only for private citizens. Because of this, the UA cannot offer a drop-off location for old electronics.

"It's so complex," said sophomore Shayne Henry. He said he thought the process of printing a sticker, packaging the device and driving it to a UPS store wasn't very feasible for many students.

It would be a good idea if there were a more efficient way to do it, Henry said.

However, the UA has long been reusing and recycling their electronic equipment, Enzor said.

Most often the UA tries to reuse products by auctioning them, he said.

More than 1,000 tons of total surplus property, ranging from kitchen grease to tires, has been recycled in one year, Enzor said. It is hard to estimate just how much the UA recycles each year, but the higher priority is to try and reuse products first, he said.

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