EnhancingtheSustainabilityofElectronicWasteHandlingon
theUWSeattleCampus
SponsoredviatheGreenSeedFund
2015
UniversityofWashingtonDepartmentofElectricalEngineering
JackLockhart,RachelRoberts,DeniseWilson
EWasteHandlingatUWSeattleOverview
What'stheProblem?
UWSeattleSurvey
Howcanweimprove?
IncreasingAwareness
IncreasingEaseofRecycling
ImprovingReuseofElectronicWaste
E-WasteRecyclingattheUW
UWSeattleSurveyfocusedon:
• VolumeofElectronicWaste• FrequencyofE-WasteRecycling• FateofE-WasteRecycling• E-wasterelativetootherWaste
Respondents(N=159)• CollegeofEngineering:54%• OutsideofCOE:46%
• RegularTTFaculty:63%• Staff:14%• Other:23%
E-WasteRecyclingattheUWVolumeofWaste:Howofteniselectronicwastedisposedof?
LaptopComputers
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly
<Onceayear
Never
PrinterCartridges
Printers,Scanners
ElectronicComponents
TestEquipment
• BatteriesandPrinterCartridgesarethemostcommonformofelectronicwasteoncampus.
• Mostlargerelectronicsaredisposedoflessthanonceayear.
• Amajorityofrespondentsneverdisposeoftablets,E-readers,testequipment,customelectronics,fabricationequipment,orelectroniccomponents.
E-WasteRecyclingattheUWFrequencyofRecycling:HowlikelyisE-WastetobeRecycled?
DesktopComputers
Batteries TabletsElectronic
ComponentsElectronic
Subassemblies
• Computersandrelatedequipment(e.g.Tablets)aremostlikelytoberecycledwhendisposed.
• Manysmalleritems,
suchaselectroniccomponentsandsubassembliesaswellascomputeraccessoriesaretheleastlikelytoberecycled.
VeryLIkely
Likely
SomewhatLIkely
NotLikely
E-WasteRecyclingattheUWFateofRecycling:WhereisJob-RelatedElectronicWasteRecycled?
UWSurplus
OnCampusRecyclingBins
• Mostjob-relatedelectronicsarerecycledthroughUWSurplus.
• Somejobrelatedewaste,however,stilllandsinon-campusrecyclingbinsorotherrecyclingdestinations.
Between76%and100%
Between51%and75%
Between26%and50%
Between6%and25%
Lessthan5%
OtherRecyclingResources
E-WasteRecyclingattheUWFateofRecycling:WhereisPersonalElectronicWasteRecycled?
CurbsideorDrop-OffFacilities
OnCampusRecyclingBins
• Curbsideanddrop-offfacilitiesappeartobethemostcommondestinationforpersonalelectronicsrecycling.
• Oncampusrecyclingbinsarenotapopulardestinationforpersonalelectronicsrecycling.
OtherRecyclingResources
Between76%and100%
Between51%and75%
Between26%and50%
Between6%and25%
Lessthan5%
E-WasteRecyclingattheUWRecyclingofE-wasterelativetoOtherWasteontheUWSeattleCampus
Electronicsstillhaveawaytogotogethigherrecyclingrates.Batteriesarethemost-recycledelectronicsoncampus,andcouldbeconnectedwithsmallelectronicsrecyclingtoimproverecyclingrates.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%%ofR
epso
nden
ts
• AttheUW
– WebPages(ewaste.ee.washington.edu)
– Seminars
• IntheCommunity
– WebPages(ewaste.ee.washington.edu)
– Seminars,E-mailCampaigns,CommunityFlyers
– EngineeringDiscoveryDays
E-WasteRecyclingIncreasingAwareness
PlacementofGeneralPurposeE-Waste
RecyclingBinsinHighUseAreas
– ElectricalEngineeringBuilding
– ComputerScienceandEngineering
(PaulAllenCenter)
OneLocatedNearSmallereMediaBinsand
Recycling/CompostBinsToIncrease
AssociationWithWell-RecycledItems
(Batteries)andComposting/PaperRecycling
E-WasteRecyclingIncreasingEaseofRecycling
FashioningElectronicWasteintoJewelryand...
E-WasteRecyclingImprovingReUseofElectronicWaste
EndlessPossibilities...
forusingelectronicwastetoraiseawarenessabout
theissuessurroundinglocal-to-globale-waste
Overall,UWSeattlehandlesthedisposalofe-wasteresponsiblyrelative
toothercommunitiesintheU.S.However,someelectronicwaste
continuestofallthroughthecracks,givingUWevenfurtheropportunity
tobealeaderinEWasteRecycling&ReUse!
• Manyuniqueorlowvolumeitemsneedtoberecycledasreadilyas
morecommon,highervolumeitems–thiscanbesupportedby
associatingless-recycleditemswithmost-recycleditemsthroughbin
placementandotherstrategictechniques.
• UWcanbealeadernotonlyinrecycling,butindiscoveringnewways
toreuseandextendproductlifecycles,aswellastoraiseawarenessin
WesternWashingtonabouttheseriousnessofe-waste.
EnhancingtheSustainabilityofElectronicWasteHandlingontheUWSeattleCampus
