The  recycling day held in the Wal-Mart parking lot last April 2008 resulted in the legal and safe disposal of over an estimated 900 items including working and non-working computers, copiers, cell phones, VCRs , fax machines, TVs, stereos and other electronic equipment. One of the goals of the event was to collect items containing toxic substances to prevent those substances ending up in the county landfill. These materials weighed a total of 22,419 lbs and contained as much as 1645 lbs of lead, 7500 lbs of plastic and other materials including glass, and other toxic metals such as mercury and barium. Lifespan Technology Recycling (see link) was responsible for disposing of the equipment by demanufaturing it at their Denver plant. They estimated that the material recycled was equivalent to 8.29 cars not driven per year and 5441 gallons of gas not consumed.

The organizers of the event hope to repeat is as demand grows over the next few years.

The day was manned and sponsored through the combined effort of WalMart, Lifespan, Western Slope Environmental Research Council’s Sustainability Committee, and Friends of Delta County Recycling.

Because of the negative coverage aired on 60 minutes TV program regarding some other recyclers of  e-waste material , Lifespan wants to emphasize their commitment to responsible recyling of e-waste in the the following statement.

• LifeSpan is the first and only electronics recycler in the state of Colorado to have been acknowledged as an Environmental Gold Leader by State of Colorado Dept Public Health and Environment
• LifeSpan is the first and only electronics recycler in the state of Colorado to have been awarded “Certified Electronics Recycler™” status by the International Association of Electronics Recycling. Unlike an arbitrary pledge that has no grounds of audit or 3^rd party verification, IAER has an independent, accredited, 3^rd party auditor that validates business practices.
• LifeSpan is the first and only electronics recycler in the state of Colorado that has achieved  AAA NAID Certification by the National Association of Information Destruction