Auburn University
OP-20: Electronic Waste Recycling Program

The University contracts e-waste recycling with Creative Recycling Systems, Inc. located in Tampa, Florida. http://www.crserecycling.com E-waste is picked up at the University by CRS on an as-needed basis from Surplus Properties, AU Recycling, and the Environmental Health and Safety Dept.. CRS creates revenue by shredding and otherwise separating the different recyclable components, re-packaging these components and redistributing them to accredited domestic and international manufacturers. Initially, upon contracting with CRS, representatives from the Environmental Health and Safety Dept. visited the CRS Tampa plant and conducted an audit to ensure that CRS is indeed accredited by reputable agencies, maintain ISO 9001 registration, and comply with all Federal and State (FL and AL) regulations. As was seen during the visit, CRS operates a patented recycling device, named “David”. The device can be viewed on the Tampa Bay Technology Forum video at http://www.crserecycling.com/movies/tbf.html More information about this system can be found at http://www.crserecycling.com/main.php?p=technology#

When no longer needed, computers and other electronic equipment on Auburn University's campus are sent to Surplus Property, where they are sorted into what can be reused and what cannot. It is estimated that Auburn had 62 tons of e-waste in 2011 including items like computer monitors, printers, fax machines and other computer parts. Surplus Properties first attempts to sell or give the usable electronics to public schools in Alabama, other departments on campus or Alabama state-funded agencies. If no one wants them, or if they are unusable, the electronics are marked for recycling. Auburn contracts with Creative Recycling Systems, a Tampa-based company that picks up e-waste and recycles its components. Creative Recycling was recently featured as a responsible e-waste recycling company in the documentary film, "Terra Blight," about the unintended consequences of America's consumption of technology.

The city of Auburn Alabama has an electronic waste recycling program using CompuPoint USA, an R2 certified e-waste recycler. Students, faculty, and staff with personal electronics may take them to the city's recycling center where the city will hold materials for pickup by CompuPoint. The Office of Sustainability provides educational materials to inform the Auburn campus community of how to dispose of both university-generated e-waste and personally generated e-waste. http://www.auburnalabama.org/es/Default.aspx?PageID=807