Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.45
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date May 1, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Pennsylvania
OP-20: Electronic Waste Recycling Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a program in place to recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish all electronic waste generated by the institution and take measures to ensure that the electronic waste is recycled responsibly?:
Yes

Does the institution have a program in place to recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students and take measures to ensure that the electronic waste is recycled responsibly?:
Yes

A brief description of steps taken to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, workers’ basic safety is protected, and environmental standards are met:

Electronics can be sent back to the manufacturer for recycling via the campus’ computer store, Computer Connection. A battery recycling program offered through the Computer Connection in collaboration with the Office of Environmental Health & Radiation Safety (EHRS) provides safe disposal and recycling of batteries from laptops, mobile phones and other devices using rechargeable batteries.

Computer and electronic equipment that cannot be donated must be sent to an electronics recycler. Elemental Inc. and E-Force, approved University vendors, will pick up all types of computer and electronic equipment.

www.upenn.edu/computing/provider/recycle/

Through a 2012 Green Fund grant, the School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) Green Team re-designed an existing trash room to incorporate an area that readily accommodates the growing recycling needs of the SEAS community. In this project, SEAS carved out a space designated for recycling collection out of a room already designated for waste stream collection - thus, transforming it into an accessible, organized & flexible area for the SEAS community and other University partners at large. As a compliment to the University system of single stream recycling the SEAS Recycling Room addresses the need for centralized systems for the collection & proper removal of the following items that currently lie outside of the University’s single stream recycling plan, including: CFL's and light bulbs, ink and toner cartridges, electronic waste, pens and markers, batteries, paper towel composting. SEAS Recycling Room project has spurred the development of other recycling rooms on campus.

www.upenn.edu/sustainability/news/recycling-center-seas-sees-high-usage-soon-after-launch


A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program for institution-generated materials:

Penn Computing’s Green IT website, www.upenn.edu/computing/greenit, provides extensive information on how Penn faculty and staff can recycle their e-waste. Additionally, the University has two preferred vendor contracts with two e-waste recyclers, E-Force and Elemental. Both of these firms were fully vetted with support from Penn’s Department of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety to ensure environmental standards are met.

http://www.upenn.edu/computing/provider/recycle/


A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program for student-generated materials :

Students can recycle cell phones, batteries, and mercury-containing bulbs in receptacles in the lobbies of all Penn’s dormitories. Electronics can be sent back to the manufacturer for recycling via the campus’ computer store, Computer Connection.


The website URL where information about the e-waste recycling program is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.