Computer store promotes green campaign

A newly launched green campaign at Penn State's Computer Store will make it possible for students, faculty and staff to help protect the environment by disposing of old laptops, batteries, cell phones and other kinds of electronic waste. The campaign, which begins this week, provides several ways for Computer Store customers to participate in a variety of recycling and conservation efforts.

"We'd like this to be an easy way for everyone in the Penn State community to get involved -- and dispose of electronic items they no longer need, such as laptops, inkjet cartridges, personal cell phones, rechargeable cell phone batteries and rechargeable laptop batteries," said Robin Becker, manager of the Computer Store. "Many people don't realize that when e-waste isn't disposed of properly, it can produce toxic residues and other kinds of problems."

According to the EPA, more than 350 million rechargeable batteries are purchased annually in the United States. These batteries are normally safe when in use, but can cause serious harm to human health and the environment when disposed of improperly, since they contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead. In addition, Science Daily reports more than 700 million cell phones are estimated to have been discarded over the past few years, causing potential leaching of harmful chemicals and metals into the environment. Concerns like these, along with the fact that e-waste is now one of the fastest growing segments of refuse in the country, has led Computer Store personnel to make the following options available to the Penn State community:

-- eWaste Recycling: Beginning Jan. 24, students, faculty and staff can bring their old personal cell phones, rechargeable batteries, and empty ink jet and toner cartridges to the HUB and Willard Computer Store locations, where staff will ensure these items are disposed of through the national Call2Recycle and ThinkRecycle programs.

-- Laptops-4-Credit: Individuals can receive immediate store credit by recycling old laptops at either the HUB or Willard Computer Store locations.

-- Smart power strips: Computer Store customers will soon be able to purchase "smart surge protectors" in either the Willard or HUB stores, or via the Computer Store Web site. These strips automatically turn off accessories, when computers are shut down, saving a significant amount of energy.

-- Skip the bag: Customers are encouraged to "skip the bag," whenever shopping bags aren't necessary with their purchases.      

-- Five for Five: A "Green Table" will be featured during the Computer Store Expo on April 2 at the Nittany Lion Inn, showcasing recycling services and energy efficient products. The Green Table will offer a gift card of $5 to anyone who turns in five recyclable items at the Expo.

-- Energy Star: Energy Star compliant laptops, printers and monitors will continue to be available to all students, faculty and staff at the Computer Store. These products are designed to automatically conserve energy use throughout the day.

-- Renewable papers: The Computer Store has begun using recycled and renewable papers for all store advertising materials and business purposes whenever possible.

-- Soy-based inks: The store is requesting soy-based inks for the printing of all store marketing materials in an effort to avoid contributing to toxic airborne solvents found in traditional petroleum-based inks.

To learn more about the green campaign effort at Penn State's Computer Store, go to http://computerstore.psu.edu/green/ online. Additional information on Penn State's University-wide Take Charge conservation campaign is available at http://www.takecharge.psu.edu/ online.