Recycling those hard to get rid of tech items

Finding a place to put an old computer or all the stuff that came with it is no easy matter.“People don’t want to throw it in the trash when they have it at home, so it’s just sitting there,” said Wendy Robins, AM Operations Manager for Dining and Culinary Services. That’s where Tru Recycle comes in.

Last week was the second time the university has worked with the organization. For a university with sustainability on its mind the partnership, it is a perfect fit, Robins said.

The non-profit organization hauls away those hard-to-dispose-of tech items and refurbishes them for community organizations in need of, let’s say, a computer. If the items aren’t able to be reused for education, work training, etc. then the products are broken down into reusable plastic, glass and so on.

“Anything that can be reused is our number one priority,” said Steve Vinzant, with Tru Recycle.

That way those items don’t end up in a landfill, he said.

There are a lot of items to pick up, Vinzant said. For example, Tru Recycle collects more than 10,000 computer monitors a year and in a given month they recycle about six pallets of paper.

The paper is usually found in old printers.

It’s a great way to get rid of things students leave behind or are just out dated, Robins said.