Editor:

As yet another semester draws to a close the time of hurried room cleanouts and dumpster filling is rapidly approaching. This year, as you dispose of your unwanted detritus accumulated over the past year, please make a concerted effort to recycle your unwanted electronic items.

In this modern age of everything electronic, mountains of power cords and electrical appliances easily pile up in the average American dwelling – and the vast majority of that ends up disposed of in landfills when we no longer have a use for it. Luckily, nearly anything electronic can be recycled in Pullman/Moscow completely free of charge.

Pullman Disposal, located on 135 NW Harold Drive, accepts TVs of any size, computer monitors and computer towers for free recycling.

Any Staples store in the U.S. (the closest is in Moscow at 233 Warbonnet Drive) accepts nearly any electronic devices such as rechargeable batteries, mice, keyboards, alarm clocks, power cords, speakers, stereos, laptops, cell phones, landline phones, MP3 players, scanners, printers, fax machines, and many more, and is completely free of charge for responsible recycling (not exported to the third world).  There is a limit of 10 items per person per day at Staples.

If you have old used ink cartridges, Staples will even pay you $2 for each one you recycle through them.

As you clean out your dorm room or apartment this May, please keep the environment in mind before tossing your electronic products and recycle them instead. It only takes minimal effort and has such a huge impact.

Brian Bodah, Ph.D. ’13

Biological and Agricultural Engineering