University of Richmond and Redemtech to host RecycleMania

Students, faculty and members of the Richmond community will be able to recycle their electronic waste responsibly at the University of Richmond-sponsored RecycleMania this Friday.

The event is sponsored by Redemtech, a business that helps companies dispose of electronic waste. The event will allow people to recycle old electronic systems, pieces or parts, sustainability coordinator Megan Litke said.

E-waste includes computers, servers, printers, monitors, battery backups, storage media, TVs, fax machines, cell phones and more, she said.

Through the recycling and reuse of almost 4,000 pounds of collected items last year, the event participants saved enough electricity to power 27 houses for one year, reduced the equivalent weight of 27 bricks worth of hazardous waste and eliminated an amount of greenhouse gas equivalent to removing three cars from the road, according to the Richmond sustainability website.

"A lot of people don't know what to do with electronic waste like old computer chargers or cell phones," sustainability intern Celia Landesberg said. "This is a great way for them to get rid of the electronics responsibly."

The university's e-waste partner, Redemtech, is e-Stewards certified, Litke said. E-Stewards is the first fully accredited, independently audited certification program designed to ensure that e-waste will be responsibly and accountably recycled, she said.

The recycling event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 1, in parking lot B5, across from the Robins Center.

Contact reporter Olivia Simons at olivia.simons@richmond.edu