Sustain Mizzou will host its first ever electronic waste collection drive Feb. 22. The drive will take place over three days, until Feb. 24, on Lowry Mall and in the MU Student Center.
An e-waste drive is a collection of old electronics people no longer use in order to recycle them properly instead of throwing them out.
The three-fold mission of the drive, according to its Facebook event page, is to promote local action by recycling electronic waste, to educate MU on the implications of recycling through visual displays and promotion and to encourage cooperation between groups on campus to accomplish this goal.
“The number one question Sustain Mizzou has received is, ‘What do I do with my old cell phone or this DVD player that broke?’” Sustain Mizzou President Tina Casagrand said. “So, this is just an outlet for people to come and be able to do that on campus and know that it’s going to be recycled responsibly.”
Casagrand said essentially anything with a plug or a battery can be recycled.
According to an event flyer, students and Columbians can bring old computers, printers, cell phones, pagers, car batteries, stoves, washing machines and more to be recycled at the drive.
“I can’t imagine anything we’d really turn away,” Casagrand said.
Sustain Mizzou is working with a company called Mid-MO Recycling to put on the event.
“They’re a leader in responsible recycling,” Casagrand said. “All of their items are de-manufactured on site. So, they’ll get an item and are able to take it apart and sort out the copper from the gold from the plastic and then sell that stuff off.”
Mid-MO Recycling will be parked on Lowry Mall during the drive, allowing the electronic waste to be handed over directly, free of charge.
Casagrand found inspiration for this event from “The Story of Stuff,” a web series of animations about consumerism, and most recently electronic waste.
“A lot of it gets recycled irresponsibly or it gets thrown into a landfill,” Casagrand said. “A lot of the chemicals and heavy metals leech into the landfill. So, I saw that and I guess it just sort of sat with me for awhile, and I realized that we could easily run something like this on campus.”
Casagrand said electronics could release many toxins, such as lead and mercury, into landfills. So, it is important for consumers to find a proper outlet for their electronics when they are ready to get rid of them.
Casagrand said she wants students to think more about what electronics they buy, what goes into the electronics before they buy them and how that material is dealt with after use.
To raise money for promotional materials, Sustain Mizzou hosted a fundraiser event Sunday at Shakespeare’s Pizza as well as a Subway Community Night on Saturday.
The total amount raised is not yet available, but Sustain Mizzou Treasurer Sam Ott said he believes the organization received positive feedback to its advertisement of the fundraisers.
“I do think we’ll definitely get some worthwhile fundraising from it,” Ott said.
This is the first time Sustain Mizzou has held a fundraiser like this since Ott joined the executive board at the beginning of the fall semester.
