University of California, Davis
OP-20: Electronic Waste Recycling Program

UC Davis has a program in place for electronic waste recycling, reuse and refurbishment. The current vendor (California Electronics Asset Recovery, CEAR) used to recycling the materials is contracted for E-steward certification. The E-stewards program certifies that the recycler adheres to environmental responsibility and worker’s protection. E-waste from student generated materials are collected by the campus recycling program’s student employees. All employees, when carrying out operational duties, are required to be dressed appropriately. The dress code typically entails closed toed shoes, gloves and appropriate attire. These materials are then transported to the Bargain Barn where a majority of campus electronic waste is accumulated to be then picked up by CEAR, which is an electronic waste recycler contracted for E-steward certification.

Departments and offices on campus are able to utilize the campus surplus equipment unit, Bargain Barn, to recycle or resell their electronics that are no longer needed. The Bargain Barn will track and recycle/resell the material depending on the value of it at the time of disposal. E-waste "drop-off" events are held by Bargain Barn; further information can be found at: http://bargainbarn.ucdavis.edu/events/ewaste.cfm Small electronics can be recycled through the campus multi-bin program. The multi-bin is a recycling unit in multiple centralized locations on campus. The units accept batteries, compact disc, floppy discs, small electronics, and inkjet cartridges.

Students on campus are able to use the multi-bins located at approximately ten locations on campus to dispose of their electronic waste. Due to size restraints, the electronic waste that a user would like to recycle does not always fit into a multi-bin. Therefore, large electronic waste is handled on a per request basis. The multi-bins on campus are located in areas in which student traffic is high, such as the student union or the campus library. Students are free to drop off materials to the bins at their leisure and the bins are serviced by the student staff of the campus recycling program.