File 13 and Urban Land Interests partnered again this year for an Electronics Recycling Drive
For the ninth year in a row, Urban Land Interests has partnered with File 13 to conduct an e-waste recycle drive for all of our commercial and retail tenants on the Capitol Square. Electronic Waste is considered anything with a plug, electric cord or battery, and it's the fastest growing waste stream in the world.
This year alone, File 13 picked up materials from 50 different companies across eleven properties for a grand total of 9,086 pounds! Since our first event in 2010, a total of 70,331 pounds of e-waste has been collected and recycled.
Throughout the world, we produce over 55 million US tons of electronic waste each year. Of that amount, only 12.5% is properly recycled, leaving a vast majority in landfills. Not only is electronic waste detrimental to the environment due to the toxic materials like lead, mercury and cadmium, it contains valuable resources that could be recovered and reused.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_New_Circular_Vision_for_Electronics.pdf
The EPA reports that for every one million cell phones that are recycled, it's possible to recover 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium, and it's not just the precious metals that can be put to good use. Other metals can be used in automotive parts, plastics can be used in garden furniture and other plastic items, and the batteries can be used in the creation of new batteries. The recovery of these materials allows for their re-use in new objects, and helps to reduce mining and collection of raw materials, a practice that can be detrimental to the environment.
https://www.epa.gov/smm-electronics/basic-information-about-electronics-stewardship#02
Thank you to all that participated in this years drive and helped us make a difference!
