Old Electronics? We Want Them!

Maybe you have a:

• broken cell-phone sitting on a shelf in your room
• bunch of scratched CDs that you never listen to piled up in the living room
• small bag of dead batteries that have been in the corner of your room for months
• digital camera from 2007 on your dresser that you never use
• drawer full of floppy disks

…sound familiar? Don’t throw that stuff in the garbage, don’t hold on to it (floppy disks aren’t making a comeback anytime soon), and stop feeling bad about it. SSMU has installed an e-waste collection bin on the first floor of the University Centre (SSMU Shatner Building). It’s across from the entrance to La Prep Café. It takes all small electronics, from batteries to headphones to tablets, and everything in between.

 

The bin is operated by Electrobac and then the electronics go out to a GEEP processing facility. GEEP tries to salvage what things are still useful. When items are too damaged or obsolete to use, GEEP takes them apart and people physically separate the types of materials (plastics, metals, etc.). This happens at a facility in Laval, QC. There are lots of metals in these electronics, such as silver and copper, and to really salvage them, they must be melted and separated in their liquid states. The melting facility is in Barrie, ON. While I didn’t do a site inspection of the Barrie facility, I did visit the facility in Laval and was impressed by the cleanliness, working conditions, and how well the component materials were being separated. Whereas some companies ship their electronics overseas to facilities with dubious practices, SSMU is proud to be using the services of an organization that is accountable to high standards of operation. <

So bring in your electronics and feel good tossing them in the Electrobac. We’ll keep you updated on how much comes in every 6 months. The last 6 months we only got 49 kg of materials. We know you have lots of stuff to bring in so just get it over with already!