I am the Director of The Capital Area Corporate Recycling Council, a nonprofit electronic refurbisher/recycler committed to e-waste reduction and the use of recycled goods by educating corporations, policy-makers and the public concerning e-waste, by reducing the stream of e-waste to landfills, and by providing recycled computers and equipment to schools, nonprofits, and low income families. The CACRC is able to refurbish for reuse the working equipment that comes into our various programs and recycle the rest using qualified vendors in the country (http://www.cacrc.com). The CACRC was incorporated as a non-profit in 1997 and has been recycling electronics for the past twelve years. The CACRC receives donations of used computer/electronic equipment. Samples of the material that the CACRC accepts are: PCs, monitors, scanners, printers, fax machines, keyboards, mice, phones, phone systems, cell phones, and cords/cables.

Located in downtown Baton Rouge, the CACRC collects material from around the state. In 2007-2008 we did 783 pick-ups of corporate and state equipment. We went to 85 cities and towns for corporate pickups and 43 cities and towns for state pick ups. Many of these are in small rural areas that have no other alternative for e-recycling. In Baton Rouge, the CACRC is a drop off center for residents and businesses and we receive drop off material every weekday: sometimes one computer, sometimes an 18 wheeler full of used equipment. In 2008 the CACRC recycle and reused over 1000 tons of equipment. The employees of the CACRC are the green collar jobs of the future working today. 

A cornerstone program of the CACRC is our Computers for Louisiana Kids Program (CLK). The CACRC provides computers to schools with designated teachers and classrooms to train students in computer hardware. Currently there are 75 schools in the program with ~ 1000 students. In December 2008 the top CLK schools agreed to join with the CACRC to design a service program for the CLK students. CACRC agreed to refurbish computers and deliver these to targeted schools, the CLK students agreed to work on these computers and load operating systems. These computers will then be placed in Head Start programs in the state. CACRC contacted every Head Start program to determine needs in these schools. Most Head Start programs had no computers or outdated ones. To date the CACRC has delivered 64 computers to Head Starts, reaching 576 kids. We have set a goal of 500 computers for this semester (before the end of May) which will reach 9,000 kids. And the scope of the program is to install 2 computers in each classroom (average of 5 per program) of the 357 Head Start centers in Louisiana before the end of 2011. On average, 10 computers will be given to each center, reaching 81 kids, for more than 28,900 Louisiana pre-school kids. 

The reuse of 1000 computer systems for this project in 2009 is the equivalent of saving the electricity to power 356 US house holds, greenhouse gas reduction of removing 258 passenger cars from the road per year, reduction is air emission of 17,090 tons, and an environmental cost savings of $358,725 (EPA environmental calculator). 

The final project will reuse 3750 computer systems over the next three years.
This project is unique in that it combines environmental recycling benefits with important social benefits--educational/service opportunities for middle and high school students in the Computer for Louisiana Kids Program as well as supplying much needed technology to Head Start schools throughout the state of Louisiana. An individual recycling a computer system with the CACRC can reduce their carbon footprint while knowing their used computer will train students and be one of the first computers used by underserved preschoolers. 

Many of the computers used for this project are state government surplus computers. The CACRC collects the computers from agency locations throughout the state. Monitors and computers are tested/refurbished by CLK technicians at the CACRC, and distributed to the schools. Any computer equipment that does not go to Head Start and needs to be recycled again, is picked up by the CACRC and finally recycled in an environmentally sound manner. The CACRC carefully selects the downstream vendors of our electronic material. One of our main vendors is Synergy Inc. of Mayodan, North Carolina. Synergy maintains quality and environmental management systems and is ISO 14001:2004 Certified. Every year they undergo a rigorous audit of their material by Dell. Materials are checked and weighed upon arrival and placed in secure holding areas until time to process them. Synergy has two main deconstruction areas where the bulk of materials are disassembled into component parts. Additionally, Synergy has two work areas where computers are tested and rebuilt for reuse. 

CPUs are inspected to determine whether they warrant further testing. All hard drives are either wiped or shredded in-house to remove data. Synergy sells re-useable parts and systems into the national resale market to extend the life of components. Materials are sold into the secondary metals markets for recycling. Circuit boards are sent to US refiners for recycling. Power supplies are sold as copper bearing to domestic and international buyers.