XMission and Salt Lake City Offer Free e-Waste Recycling to Salt Lake City Residents

Salt Lake City, UT (May 10, 2007)– XMission and Salt Lake City will co-sponsor a Home Electronics Recycling Event on May 12, 2007 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Residents of Salt Lake City can recycle their home electronics for free. Accepted items include computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, televisions, VCRs, DVDs, and cellular phones.

This event will occur in the west parking lot of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce building at 175 E. 400 S. Event participants can drive into the parking lot where volunteers will help them unload their electronic equipment. Salt Lake City residents must provide proof of residence by either supplying a current utility bill or driver’s license.

Non-Salt Lake City residents can also recycle their home electronics at this event for a nominal fee. Costs range from $1 for keyboard recycling to $25 for large televisions.

"In addition to XMission's leadership in running on wind power, we realize that this is only part of our responsibility to the community,” said XMission Founder and President Pete Ashdown. “Computer 'e-waste' is a significant problem and XMission is proud to assist in the reuse and proper recycling of unused PCs.”

Besides sponsoring this event, XMission and Salt Lake City also hope to educate the community about the dangers of simply throwing away old computer equipment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 3.2 million tons of electronic waste is laid to rest in U.S. landfills each year. Consumer electronics constitute 40 percent of the lead found in landfills according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

“Recycling electronics responsibly is especially important because they contain lead, mercury, cadmium and other hazardous chemicals,” said Debbie Lyons, Salt Lake City Recycling Manager.

XMission and Salt Lake City will use Guaranteed Recycling Xperts (GRX), one of the leading recyclers of computers and electronics in the nation, to ensure that none of the electronics gathered at this event will end up in landfills. GRX Regional Manager, Eric Anderson states, “GRX guarantees no landfilling, no incineration, and no exporting to third world countries.”

Anyone who brings in reusable computer gear can also elect to donate it to local nonprofits that refurbish Internet ready machines for reuse.

“Recycling in general makes good sense. There are many environmental, social and economic benefits of recycling,” said Lyons.