Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

I have lived in Boulder almost half my life and never realized how many resources we have to keep our city and the world clean. Since global warming has been on the forefront of our news for the past 10 years, cities have really stepped up and gone from recycling basics such as bottles and cans to recycling... well, basically everything! Boulder has a facility to recycle electronics, a facility to recycle materials, and even one to recycle hazardous materials. 

Many people don't know, like I didn’t, that recycling hazardous materials in Boulder is actually free, at the Hazardous Materials Management Facility (HMMF). This would be a great place to get rid of paint that has been sitting in your garage, hazardous cleaning supplies you don't use but don't feel comfortable throwing away, lights containing mercury (such as flourescent tubes), and more. Also not well known is that the facility actually goes through everything to see if it is reusable and if it is, it gets put on a shelf for people to come in and reuse for free as well. If you are a contractor, architect, or someone who just wants to do a mini home remodel, the HMMF is a great resource.

Recently, AppliedTrust dedicated an entire day to Preventative Maintenance in our office. On that day we encouraged everyone to bring in materials to recycle, and we ended up recycling 596 pounds of electronics! 

If you don’t happen to live in or near Boulder, chances are good that there are similar types of facilities near you. Try a Google search with terms such as “hazardous materials recycling [your city name]” to see what’s available in your area.

Although it’s always best to try to recycle most materials, there are some electronics and appliances that need to be disposed of properly, including the following:

1. Alkaline Batteries
2. Items with freon (refrigerators, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and freezers)
3. Hazardous liquids and items with mercury

* One note about batteries! Many batteries can be easily recycled such as UPS batteries, laptop batteries etc. We highly encourage you to recycle as MANY rechargable batteries as you can! You can actually take those rechargable ones straight to a local battery place (in Boulder, i.e. BatteriesPlus) to recycle or the nearest Best Buy!

When disposing of or recycling electronics with personal information you should either:

1. Wipe out all the information on it using some time of wiping tool such as DBAN (recommended).

-OR-

2. 'Office Space' the thing and smash it with a hammer (shout out to Crossi).

All in all, once you start your spring cleaning, whether it be at the office or at your home, remember to dispose of electronics in a safe manner while also looking out for the environment.

Some helpful contacts:

Eco-Cycle

(303) 444-6634

http://www.ecocycle.org/

recycle@ecocycle.org