Electronics Collection Day Fundraiser to Benefit May Institute; E-Cycling Offers Convenience, Cost Savings, Community and Environmental Benefits

09/16/08

Randolph, Mass. — May Institute, an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides educational, rehabilitative, and behavioral healthcare services for individuals with autism and other special needs, announces a special e-cycling event to be hosted in Northampton.

“Don’t Just Recycle, E-cycle!” Fundraiser
to benefit May Institute
Saturday, October 4, 2008
3-County Fairgrounds (Fair Street Parking Lot)
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

E-cycling, the reuse of computers and electrical devices, is taking communities by storm. Most Americans do not have curbside pick-up of electronics like appliances, televisions, air conditioners, sewing machines, lawn mowers, and keyboards. Many communities do not have a community landfill capable of taking or storing electronic waste; those that do typically charge a significant fee to the consumer to dispose of electronic waste. E-cycling offers a convenient, cost-effective alternative to stockpiling or illegal dumping of old electronics (essentially any item with an electrical cord), and provides a unique opportunity to support nonprofit organizations and global environmental goals.

Local residents have the opportunity to realize the benefits of e-cycling by bringing their “e-waste” to the Fair Street Parking Lot on October 4. For a small tax deductible fee, May Institute will collect and safely dispose of all items.

Proceeds will support many May Institute programs and services, including its May Center for Child Development in West Springfield, a year-round school serving children ages 3 to 12 with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.

“Every dollar counts,” said Heidi Howard, M.P.A., Chief of Business Development at May Institute. “Local community support plays a major role in helping us reach out to families who are in need of services that are so important for giving their children the best future possible.”

Computers, televisions, microwaves, refrigerators, and other electronics are collected, destroyed, and reconstituted to be sold to construction and other companies. The process guarantees that no personal data can be retrieved or stolen from computer hard drives. Other items are either recycled or disposed of according to regulations, depending upon condition.

Fees range from $5 to $20 per item, depending on size. Some items, including cell phones, PDAs, keyboards, mice, and cables can be donated free of charge. Carloads with five or more items and trucks or SUVs with 10 or more items will receive a 10% discount. Area businesses are welcome to participate. Small business and residential pick-ups are available in most areas by calling (781) 834-9606. Checks and cash will be accepted.

For more information, contact Dana Pellitteri at (781) 437-1457 or dpellitteri@mayinstitute.org, or visit www.mayinstitute.org.

About May Institute

May Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides educational, rehabilitative, and behavioral healthcare services to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, brain injury, mental illness, and other behavioral healthcare needs. The Institute also provides training and consultation services to professionals, organizations, and public school systems.

Since its founding over 50 years ago, May Institute has evolved into an award-winning national network that serves over 25,000 individuals and their families annually. The Institute operates several nonpublic schools for children with autism and other developmental disabilities, and a school for children and adolescents with brain injury. An active center of research and training, the Institute maintains affiliations with more than 40 universities, hospitals and human service agencies worldwide.

For more information about May Institute, go to www.mayinstitute.org.

FACTS ABOUT E-CYCLING

Definition

E-cycling is the reuse of computers and electrical devices – essentially anything powered by an electrical cord. Nonprofit organizations work with disposal companies and sometimes manufacturers directly to designate a site and day where residents and businesses, for a small fee, can dispose of obsolete electrical devices.

Convenience & Cost Savings

E-cycling events provide an economical, easy solution for disposing of e-waste and have become the most popular method of e-cycling in the world.
Most Americans do not have curbside pickup of electronics. Roughly half the landfills in the U.S. are not capable of taking and/or storing televisions or computer monitors that carry strict EPA storage guidelines. If they do accept electronic devices, they typically charge a significant fee to the consumer to dispose of this kind of electronic waste.
EPA surveys estimate that 460,000 computers no longer in use by American businesses are in storage because businesses do not want to or cannot absorb the costs of disposal.
Close to a billion more electronic items, primarily televisions and obsolete computers, are sitting in garages, basements, and mud rooms in American homes. It is estimated that 75% of this material is being improperly stored.

Global Community Benefits

E-cycling events also return money back to community service organizations in need of funding, making these events doubly attractive to the average consumer.
Cell phones collected at these events are reconditioned and used in the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, allowing U.S. Armed Services personnel to make calls home at no cost.
Some equipment collected at events has value; printers are often donated to churches, schools, and families in need. Laptops are refitted with new hard drives and shipped to programs like The Haitian Project, allowing doctors to maintain records on patients in third world countries.

Environment

E-cycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Extracting metals from 100 tons of electronics through e-cycling as opposed to extraction from traditional manufacturing and processing methods, results in 60 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide released into the air; an amount equal to the emission of 500 cars.
Americans own three billion electronic items and are poised to buy 250 million more in the coming year. Each American spends $1,200/year buying electronics. The average computer is replaced every 28 months; the average cell phone every 18 months. However, only 23% of these obsolete items are recycled.
Each month, 100,000 old unwanted computer monitors are reconditioned and transformed into televisions, reducing the volume of lead and other harmful toxins into the ground and atmosphere.
Toner cartridges are now refilled instead of simply being crushed and sold as construction materials. Since 2001, two billion pounds of this type of e-waste has been recycled; an amount that would fill 160,000 garbage trucks stretching from Seattle to the border of Mexico.
Computer or television monitors contain an average of six pounds of lead each.
Other hazardous materials used in computers and other electronic devices include cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PVC plastic, and brominated flame retardant.