Texas State hosts Earth Day RecycleNow electronics collection day

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
April 16, 2014

Texas State University will partner with the City of San Marcos and PSC Environmental Services (PSC) to host the 6th annual RecycleNow electronics collection event April 26.

The event is held in observance of Earth Day, and will run 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Strahan Coliseum parking lot.

Texas State and PSC secure volunteers, monetary donations and in-kind donations to provide the local community with a free, convenient opportunity to recycle their unwanted electronics. During the event, a variety of electronics will be accepted for proper recycling at no charge. Accepted items include computers, cell phones, printers, scanners, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players and a variety of other electronic devices. Unacceptable items are appliances and microwaves, chemical waste, oil and tires. Texas State students, faculty and staff may bring personal electronic items only and not university-owned equipment.

Over the last five years, this initiative has diverted more than 120,000 pounds of electronics from landfills and donated nearly $40,000 back to universities to support local sustainability projects. Last year alone, San Marcos and surrounding areas brought in more than 30,000 pounds of electronic recyclables.

The collected items will be recycled at URT in Fort Worth. URT is a certified E-Steward E-Waste recycler and all materials are processed domestically. All hard drives that are collected at the collection event are destroyed via shredding.

This event allows a variety of different groups to come together and volunteer their time and effort to directing cars into the drop-off line, collecting the recyclables and surveying drivers.

“This is a great opportunity to promote the responsible recycling of end-of-life electronics for the residents in the Hays County area as well as the campus community,” said Sue Bruning, PSC’s RecycleNow event coordinator. “It is truly a collaborative effort between local sponsors from the community, staff and student volunteers from Texas State, the City of San Marcos and PSC.”

For more information contact the Environmental Health Safety and Risk Management office at Texas State at (512) 245-3616.