Friday, May 8, 2009

The 3rd Annual eWaste Recycling Event - April 18, 2009

On April 18th my family and thousands of others participated in the 3rd Annual eWaste Recycling Event, sponsored by Small Dog Electronics, Ben & Jerry's, Symquest and We Cycle and a host of others.  It was fantastic to participate in this annual event, fast transforming how Vermonter's think and act regarding recycling.  Activities such as this really impact our green behavior and shifting such as this to the forefront of daily life.  We recycled a scanner, a computer monitor and lots of miscellaneous accessories and cables.  Please see the below press release from Small Dog:

... from Small Dog Electronics:
 04.18.2009 – Early estimates indicate that Vermont based Apple retailer, Small Dog Electronics recycled 150 tons of e-waste at their third annual Earth Day E-Waste Event this year, and it didn’t cost the public a dime.

Cars filled with old TVs, computers and electronic peripherals lined up as early as 8:00 am to recycle their electronics for free. In the end, 100 volunteers unloaded 1,700 cars. All of the electronics collected will be processed in the United States by WeRecycle! in one of their two processing plants in Connecticut and New York. 

The Earth Day E-Waste Event is part of the company’s mission of social and environmental responsibility. “We have to find the best way to recycle what we sell and educate our customers about it. Although manufacturing processes are improving, computers, monitors and other equipment have some hazardous contents like cadmium, mercury and chromium that can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater,” says Don Mayer, CEO and founder of Small Dog Electronics.

Small Dog recycles e-waste safely and responsibly all year-round for about 25 cents per pound, a standard fee. This year the event cost Small Dog Electronics and their partners $60,000. When most companies are scaling back on community events, the leadership and social responsibility that Small Dog, SymQuest, Ben & Jerry’s, Green Mountain Coffee… and many others has shown through financial support of this event is remarkable. “Small Dog Electronics measures its success by people, PLANET and profit. This is the planet part in action and in this difficult economy when people are cutting back on everything, it is wonderful that like minded companies can join together to make a real difference. I want to thank all of our partners for joining with Small Dog Electronics is subsidizing this annual event,” said Mayer.

According to news reports, in 2008 Small Dog’s event resulted in more recycling than similar events held nationwide. For more information about the event, and to learn more about e-waste, and what makes it so detrimental to the environment, visit www.smalldog.com/ewaste.