Arrow Recycling Event Collects 154,000 Pounds of E-Waste

Arrow Electronics, a global provider of products and services to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions, held a recycling event that collected more than 154,000 pounds of electronic devices from residents of Denver on Aug. 11.

The event, hosted in partnership with Comcast, the City and County of Denver Public Works/Denver Recycles and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, collected a wide range of electronics, including computer hardware and peripherals, home office machines, mobile devices, television and gaming equipment and small appliances. Denver Broncos cheerleaders and past players participated to meet fans and sign autographs.

Arrow says all electronics will have data removed before being repurposed, donated to charity, or recycled through “the industry’s most socially and environmentally responsible methods.”

Arrow provides asset recovery, data sanitization, testing, recycling, remarketing, donation and resale services for a wide range of electronic equipment. The company says it provides services that enable business clients to find opportunities for greater efficiencies and value capture at the end of the IT product life cycle, and that it maintains strict responsible handling and recycling policies that ensure maximum reuse of electronics, adhere to all export laws and prevent hazardous materials from going to landfills or being incinerated.

A law went into effect in Colorado on July 1 banning e-waste from being disposed of via the trash. Prohibited items — such as TVs, laptops, tablets, DVD players, and video game consoles — must be recycled, either by dropping them at a recycling facility or having them picked up, reports the Denver Post. Phones can still be thrown away.

Making it a legal requirement in a state does boost recycling, as demonstrated by New York State. A report by the Product Stewardship Institute for the Natural Resources Defense Council says that easier consumer access to scrap electronics collection sites, spurred by manufacturer funding, has contributed to an increase in e-waste recycling and a decrease in government spending in the state.