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Calgary Herald

Ikea hosts annual electronic recycling event to mark Earth Month

Got an old laptop and don't know where to put it? Article content There's a bin right by the Ikea parking lot that will take it off your hands for you, people in green shirts ready to help and a truck ready to transport used and unwanted electronics off to groups who can better dispose of them. Article content The free Electronic Recycling event is an annual initiative by Ikea, hosted by Green Calgary, in partnership with the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) for Earth month. Today from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m., anyone with an unwanted electronic, be it a laptop, phone, or television set, can bring their items to the initiative and drop them off for a better cause. Article content Article content 'Our initiative is to try and take as many electronics as possible and keep them out of the landfills,' said Aaron-Robert Livermore, warehouse supervisor with ERA. Article content Article content Electronics still in fair and usable condition are repurposed and donated to schools, non-profits and other groups who have a need for them, while items in bad shape are given to companies whose expertise lies in disposing of them in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner. Article content 'A lot of people don't realize how much impact it has on the environment,' Livermore said. The metal components of an electronic, the chemicals used to manufacture it, 'they're leaking compounds into the soil and the environment around them,' he said. 'Our purpose is to find different people that will actually do a proper end-of-life recycle point for it.' Article content Article content Article content By 10:30 a.m., just a half hour after set-up, some people had already come by to drop off old electronics — a pair of pink headphones, a few tablets, a Blu-ray player with a TV remote. Article content Depending on the weather, the initiative can draw more than 100 visitors, Livermore said, donating tablets, cell phones, vacuum cleaners, laptops, cable boxes and monitors. Article content But that's not all that gets donated, Livermore added. 'An 80-inch projector,' he replied, when asked about the largest item ever received, to his experience. Staff had to strap the television to the back wall of the truck to ensure it was stored safely when driving.