PHOENIX — Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today the agency’s launch of the online ADEQ E-Waste Recycling Event Toolkit (E-waste Toolkit), which includes best practices, marketing materials, contacts, and other educational materials to continue to support and expand Arizona cities’ and town’s efforts to properly recycle their electronic waste now and in the future. Interested public, private and non-profit sector organizations, may access the E-Waste Toolkit (both English and Spanish versions) at http://azdeq.gov/environ/waste/p2/ewastetoolkit/index.html
“ADEQ’s E-Waste Toolkit provides even inexperienced users with a roadmap for success in creating a recycling alternative to disposing used electronics in landfills and with expanding existing community recycling options,” said ADEQ Recycling Coordinator J.B. Shaw. He added, “Using the E-Waste Toolkit, communities can get ready and stay organized to collect tons of e-waste.”
Following two and a half years of development and testing, the web-based E-Waste Toolkit is a continuously improving, public-private collaboration among several parties and was funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission. Employees from five border-region municipalities – Nogales, Somerton, Sahuarita, San Luis, and Bisbee – helped refine the content of the E-Waste Toolkit by using it to plan and host their own e-waste collection and recycling events. To date, more than 20 tons of e-waste has been collected and recycled as a direct result of the E-Waste Toolkit testing.
A sixth event to support continuous improvement of the E-Waste Toolkit is being held in Sierra Vista during P2 Week on Sat., Sept. 26. See PDF flier for event details.
Since 2009, the more than one hundred ADEQ-sponsored e-waste events in more than 50 participating Arizona communities have collected and recycled more than 2.7 million pounds of e-waste.
Online launch of the E-Waste Toolkit is just one of the activities ADEQ is undertaking to increase pollution prevention awareness during P2 week. For a complete list of ADEQ P2 educational webinars, activities and resources, please check PDF file HERE.