BURLINGTON, VT (04/13/2010)(readMedia)-- Everyone has an old phone, CDs, empty printer cartridges, used batteries, orphan cables and other items taking up space in a drawer or box somewhere in their office or dorm room.

According to Sustainability Coordinator Christina Erickson (at right), while Champlain College has a good record of repurposing and recycling out dated or unusable electronics like computers, printers and other devices, some of the smaller personal electronic items were being overlooked and often just tossed in the trash.

To meet the challenge to reduce such waste, Champlain College's Information Services and Sustain Champlain, a group of faculty, staff and students dedicated to monitoring and reducing the college's environmental impact, teamed up to create the "E-waste not for Landfills" campaign.

There are now five blue cylinder bins located around campus to provide a way for people to properly dispose of their smaller electronics. Physical Plant workers will collect the recycled items until Good Point Recycling, a company based in Middlebury, Vt., picks them up. Good Point Recycling, an American Retroworks Inc. operation, is fully transparent in how the items are used and where they finally end up.

"This campaign truly reflects the dedication Champlain College has to the environment," Erickson said. "The college has a strong environmentally conscious leadership role in the community and students are all for it. Champlain College students are now more than ever taking responsibly of their actions and understanding how these actions impact our planet."

Acceptable materials for the recycling program include: CDs, DVDs, diskettes, printer cartridges, any handheld electronic device (cell phones, pagers, PDAs, iPods), batteries, chargers, related cords and cables etc.

The Champlain Helpdesk in Foster Hall is offering help to remove any confidential data from the items, especially hard drives, before they are disposed. If the item is too large for the bins provide on campus, call (802) 865-5449 or (802) 865-5446 for assistance.

In other Champlain College sustainability news:

On April 20, in coordination with the "E-waste not For Landfills" campaign, Paul Dusini, Champlain's assistant vice president of information systems and Fran Estes, the college's senior Information systems operation coordinator will host an electronic swap. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to swap or donate unwanted usable or unusable electronics.

The event and the "E-waste not For Landfills" campaign will act as a reminder that the things we throw away don't just disappear, Erickson said. "If not disposed of correctly the toxic materials in electronics can lead to major health and environmental problems."

By Amanda Petry '11

Champlain College News

Posted Tuesday April 13, 2010 at 02:41 pm by Champlain College
Last Updated Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 12:39 pm