Hollins University helps recycle e-waste

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ROANOKE (AP) — As director of information technology at Hollins University, Greg Henderson thought he knew most everything about computer equipment. But Mr. Henderson acknowledges a documentary he recently saw on disposing of sensitive computer components really opened his eyes.

"It was enlightening to me, and also scary at the same time," said Mr. Henderson, who is now helping to dispose of such equipment in a more environmentally sensitive way.

Today at Hollins, an electronics-recycling company will collect unwanted computers and other electronic devices. Virginia Tech, Old Dominion University and the University of Richmond have signed on as co-sponsors of the collection. Volunteers at Hampden-Sydney College already have collected 20 tons of electronics to be picked up for recycling.

Mr. Henderson and the others hope to collect 200 tons of e-waste.

"This is my way of trying to go back and try to clean up what I've actually helped contribute to," he said.

Mr. Henderson has been working with Renee Godard, a biology professor and environmental studies director, to educate students to the hazards of e-waste.

Each year, at least 5 million tons are improperly discarded in the United States, according to the environmental group Basel Action Network. The Seattle-based nonprofit is named for the 1989 Basel Convention, which asked countries to stop free trade in hazardous waste and to not dump e-waste in developing countries.

In modern electronics recycling plants, machines and trained workers remove metals from the devices and dispose of hazardous components. However, such measures are not taken in developing countries, where hundreds of thousands of tons of discarded electronics are shipped each year, said Sarah Westervelt of the Basel Action Network.

"There's so much of an economic incentive to just sell this waste to brokers who mostly ship it directly to China, India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, South America because waste generators basically have to choose between getting paid or paying to have it [e-waste] responsibly managed," Miss Westervelt said.

The equipment collected by Hollins will be picked up and transported to a Massachusetts electronics-recycling company. The computer hard drives will be ripped apart, ensuring the information on them cannot be retrieved, Mr. Godard said. The toxic elements inside the computer will also be properly handled.

Hollins began its e-waste collection Oct. 1. Volunteers tossed keyboards, mouses, VCRs and old fax machines into enormous cardboard boxes.

They collected about 15 tons of old computer components, copiers and even a microfilm reader.

Sophomore Donita Burks said she is proud the small university has taken on the campaign.

"If Hollins could do it, anyone can do it," she said.