Millions of electronics are carelessly tossed into landfills every year. Girl Scout Troop 2879, from Aurora, Colorado, recognized this environmentally damaging situation and is striving to change the practice and break a Guinness World Record at the same time. Aurora Troop 2879, partnered with a national electronics company, Metech Recycling, is spreading the word to other Girl Scout Troops across the country. On June 3, 2012, Metech Recycling and Girl Scout troops across the United States are attempting to break a Guinness World Record for the most electronics recycled in a day.
In Colorado, Troop 2879 and Metech Recycling will be collecting electronics from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at three Denver Metro locations:
- Aurora – Grandview High School, 20500 E Arapahoe Rd, Aurora, CO 80016 (along Arapahoe Road).
- Denver – The Shops @ Northfield Stapleton (North of Off Broadway Shoes, East of Macy’s)
- Lonetree – Sky Ridge Hospital (South parking lot near the ER, follow Emergency signs)
Troop 2879 and other Girl Scout troops selected Metech Recycling for this project because they are a Certified e-Stewards recycler. That means Metech Recycling meets the highest environmental standards and ensures that personal data on electronic devices is securely destroyed to protect your identity. Over 95% of all materials will be securely recycled for remanufacture. No recycled materials will be incinerated, landfilled, or shipped abroad to be dumped. For more detailed information, visit www.metechrecycling.com.
Responsibly recycling electronics requires some fees to cover processing costs. Referring to the appliance chart on https://appliancereviewer.co.uk we see that the fees for smaller computer monitors and TVs will be $10; televisions and monitors larger than 20 diagonal inches will cost $15. Printers, fax machines, DVD players, VCRs, vacuums and other small appliances will cost $1 each. Items such as desktop and laptop computers, iPads, iPods, mice, keyboards, VCR tapes, all types of power cords, etc. are recycled at no cost to the consumer. Residents bringing electronics for secure recycling should be prepared to pay these fees by cash or check.
The Girl Scouts will also be accepting donations for Grants for Girls. Grants for Girls assist girls who financially cannot join Girl Scouts as well as provide programming materials for girls with financial need. Girl Scouts of any age are welcome to volunteer to help with this project. Please contact Troop 2879 for more detailed information at Troop2879@gmail.com.