Contact: Thad Nation
414.412.7814
Events in Madison and Milwaukee offer opportunities to safely discard items
MILWAUKEE — Earth Day is Sunday, April 22, and the annual reminder to take care of the planet is a good time to e-cycle the unwanted and unused electronics in your home or office.
“E-cycling a computer, DVD player, or other electronic device provides an opportunity to recycle reusable components and keep electronics out of landfills, ” says Thad Nation, executive director of Wired Wisconsin.
In 2011, Wisconsin’s E-Cycle Wisconsin program brought in 6.2 pounds of e-waste per resident. These efforts keep electronics out of landfills and generate economic growth for collectors, recyclers and redistributors of collected materials. More information on E-Cycle Wisconsin can be found here.
E-recycling drives are being held around the state this weekend in honor of Earth Day:
Saturday, April 21
The Washington County Habitat for Humanity will be holding a free e-cycling event at the West Bend High Schools parking lot, 1305 E. Decorah Road in West Bend from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The Fox Cities ReStore, 3000 E. College Avenue, Appleton, will also be holding an e-cycling event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. that day.
Sunday, April 22
In the Milwaukee area, Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity ReStore, along with Mayfair Mall, 2500 North Mayfair Road, is hosting an e-recycling drive on Sunday, May 22 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the Macy’s Northeast Parking lot. Computers, televisions, phones, copy and fax machines, printers, stereo equipment, microwaves, CD/VCR/DVD players and most small electronics can be dropped off during the drive. Items can be functional or non-working.
In the Madison area, Goodwill be holding four free computer collection drives from noon until 3 p.m. on Sunday at the following Goodwill collection sites: Madison East, 2127 East Springs Drive; Madison West, 4530 Verona Road; Middleton, 6661 University Avenue; and Monona, 2501 Royal Avenue.
Goodwill accepts functional and non-working computers, hard drive, monitors, keyboards and most peripherals that attach to a computer via a cord, such as a mouse, printer, speakers and the cords as well. Goodwill also accepts Microsoft Xbox and Zune systems and any related peripherals.
For the Earth Day event, Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Wauwatosa has partnered with Vintage Tech Recyclers to process donations of computers and electronics at the Mayfair Mall event. Through this partnership, ReStore receives a donation per pound of items donated. Goodwill manages its own computer recycling program, called Reconnect, in conjunction with Dell. Microsoft is a Reconnect supporting partner.
Both Habitat for Humanity and Goodwill offer e-cycling services year round, but are holding Earth Day e-cycling collection events to help increase awareness of their programs.
