The building’s three-day electronics  recycling drive, held in conjunction with Earth Day, was extremely successful.

Tenants donated approximately 15,829 pounds of computer monitors, laptops, copiers, printers, telephones, computer processing units, printer cartridges, batteries and cell phones for recycling. Jenner & Block was the largest donor, while Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella contributed a significant amount of waste.

“We appreciate the high level of participation from tenants,” says Susan Hammer, general manager of 330 N. Wabash. “The effort makes a positive difference for the environment and reduces the amount of solid and toxic waste that ends up in area landfills.”

With the exception of cell phones, the items collected in the e-waste drive went to COM2, a nationally known recycler based in Carol Stream, Ill. The company takes in 10 tons of electronics every day from across the United States — none of which goes to landfills, says COM2’s Saheem Baloch. The company separates items that can be reused from those that are obsolete and resells them. Sixty percent of the materials COM2 collected from 333 N. Wabash will be reused.

Obsolete electronics get a second life through recycling. Many of the materials in electronics, such as plastic, glass, steel, gold, lead and mercury, can be recaptured for reuse. The recycling process separates equipment into component parts: glass, precious metals, non-precious metals, etc., and makes the residuals available to manufacturers.

For example, glass from computer monitors is used to make TV screens, while the glass in compact-fluorescent light bulbs is used to produce new bulbs. Metals such as gold, copper, lead and mercury are removed from components in keeping with stringent regulations, and melted down to make new products.
“If we cannot properly recycle an item, we will not accept it,” Baloch says. “We do not landfill electronics or any of their components.”

330 N. Wabash donated the cell phones to the Building Owners and Managers Association Lifelines Cell Phone Drive. Proceeds are used to buy school supplies for Chicago Public Schools’ students. Phones that have 911 capabilities are donated to senior citizens and abuse victims. It doesn’t matter whether phones are active or inoperable – they can be put to good use.

Tenants can continue to take drained batteries, empty printer cartridges and cell phones to the 330 N. Wabash “Be Greenergetic” Recycling Center. The center is at the loading dock and can be accessed by taking the shuttle car around the corner from the freight elevators in the lobby. Tenants can also call the Office of the Building at 621-8550 to arrange for free pickups of donated items.

Those who want to recycle office or home e-waste in the future can contact COM2 or other recycler. COM2 accepts all electronics, except refrigerators and air conditioning units, and charges only $5 for computer monitors. All other drop-offs are free. COM2 will also pick up items; visit www.com2computer.com or call (630) 653-2662 for details.

Other options for eliminating e-waste include:

• Visit www.illinoisrecycles.org and click on “E-cycling” for a list of collection sites (some take items without charge; others charge a small fee).
• Donate any working equipment to a school or nonprofit.
• Office Depot offers a Tech Recycling program. The store will recycle as much e-waste as consumers can fit into one of Office Depot’s small ($5), medium ($10) or large ($15) Tech Recycling boxes. The only charge is for the box. Visit www.officedepot.com/techrecycling for a list of acceptable items.
• Staples also has an e-waste recycling program. The store charges $10 per piece of large equipment; there is no fee for small computer peripherals such as mice and keyboards. For more information, visit www.staples.com/ecoeasy.
• OfficeMax recycles electronics as well for $5 to $20 per piece. Contact the store nearest you for details.
• Send electronic equipment back to its maker. Many companies, including Apple, Dell and Sony, will take back their products, although you may have to pay for shipping.

For a list of frequently asked questions and answers about e-waste, visit www.epa.gov/ecycling/faq.htm#general.