To celebrate Earth Day 2009, we unveiled the latest phase of our Blue Tent Green initiative: Computer Recycling. It goes without saying how harmful computer components containing hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and chromium can be to our environment if they aren’t disposed of properly.
With a grant from Aspen’s Community Office for Resource Efficiency (C.O.R.E.) and in partnership with the Carbondale-based YouthEntity (formerly Computers For Kids Foundation or C4K), we will contribute to a collaborative effort to reuse and recycle computers from throughout the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.
Youth Entity is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help prepare local youth prepare for future success by connecting community with technology and education. Their student technicians are able to give approximately 85% of the computers and peripherals they receive a new lease on life by refurbishing the equipment and then distributing it to those in need. The equipment that Youth Entity can’t use is headed for A-1 Electronic Recycling, LLC of Denver, Colorado. It’s not the company that was recently raided by the FBI and featured on “60 Minutes,” so no worries on that front.
Back in the day, our office was located in the server room of a company in Basalt. We were surrounded by old computer monitors, keyboards, speakers and such. Clearly, nobody knew what to do with that stuff or how to dispose of it in a responsible way. Going forward, our goal is to make it easy for people to recycle and reuse older computers as much as possible.
Today, BTM World Headquarters is located upstairs at 218 E. Valley Dr., Suite 205 in the Orchard Plaza building in El Jebel, across from Movieland. Our office will serve as a drop-off point for the mid-valley residents for used computers and peripherals every Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. We’ll also station the computer recycling trailer at various locations throughout the valley from time to time. A processing fee of $5 to $12 is required to defray the recycling costs. All gift-in-kind donations to YouthEntity are tax deductible.
So if you’re located in the Roaring Fork Valley, keep an eye out for our computer recycling trailer. And help us keep toxic computers out of landfills and extend their life by putting them into the hands of those that could use them.
Happy Earth Day!
– The Blue Tent Team