A young Nigerian boy sitting amidst a pile of computer processors, circuit boards, and various electronic components breaks apart a television cathode ray tube to salvage the trace amounts of precious metal attached to the equipment. This method releases zinc silicate phosphor, the gas component used in cathode ray tubes, which is toxic when inhaled.
This is the image Mark Bragg, associate vice president in Information Technology, claims as a major motivation for the upcoming e-waste event to be held on the ETSU campus May 14 -17.
“What we’ve realized is [that] when people throw something away they don’t think about where away is,” Bragg said. “It’s out of their hair and it becomes somebody else’s problem. It’s become second nature to us. We’re a disposable society. When we see something new in a store we think nothing about replacing and throwing that piece of equipment out.”
But where are these materials going?
Often e-waste materials are shipped to third world countries like Nigeria or to China where environmental laws are less strict then in the United States, Bragg said.
“They are trying to recycle it to get a few scraps of precious metal and the rest of it is just laying in big heaps, leaching into the water supply,” Bragg said. “Peoples’ health is being ruined, not only from the water supply, but from the techniques they are using to recycle it.”
On the ETSU campus, the turnover of electronic equipment has become a problem for OIT.
“As a student . you’re here to get a good education and part of getting a good education is having the right kind of equipment,” Bragg said. “So we’ve made investments and we’ve set up procedures to replace that equipment on a regular basis. What you need as a college student is more advanced then what a kindergartener would need. So we started a program here a few years ago called PASTA (Providing Area Schools Technology Assistance).”
The PASTA program, a partnership between OIT and the computer science program, recycles computer equipment that no longer has the capabilities to run advanced programs to area school systems, Bragg said. Eventually those computers will need to be replaced.
“One of the direct contacts that are being made [for the Ewaste event] is the schools that we’ve donated this equipment to,” Bragg said. “We’re going back to them and we’re saying ‘hey, we’re going to close the loop for you.’ We’re going to give it to you and then we’re going to take it back and make sure it’s recycled properly.”
The e-waste recycling event, sponsored by Apple Corporation, will be held at three Tennessee campuses – ETSU, Vanderbilt and Memphis. While the first three days are reserved for community businesses and institutions, Saturday is an open day for the public to bring computer systems, audio and video equipment, handheld devices and office equipment they would like to be recycled.
“If they have eligible types of equipment they can simply bring it to campus and . the staff that will be here will actually unload the equipment for them,” Bragg said. “They should probably never even have to get out of the car or truck and everything will just be taken care of for them.”
Because the event will be held after the semester’s end, the facilities department will be setting up bins in the residence halls for students to dispose of unwanted electronic equipment.
“When students are moving out of the residence halls, if they’ve got a broken radio they don’t want to take back home, or whatever piece of electronic equipment, they can toss it in a bin,” Bragg said. “[The facilities department] will collect all those bins and bring them to the recycling event for the students.”
Collection for businesses and individuals will be held in Parking Lot 22A behind Buck’s Pizza from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
While this is a one-time event for the campus, measures are being taken to institute a permanent means of e-waste recycling, Bragg said.
Currently, ETSU recycles mixed paper, aluminum, plastic, scrap metal, cardboard, light bulbs, oil and all yard waste, said Kathleen Moore, director of landscape, grounds and athletic facilities.
“As for e-waste, the university attempts to reuse all computers through our computer exchange program,” Moore said.
“Our unusable items are auctioned off as state surplus. Now that our recycling program is up and running smoothly, our Recycling Task Force is looking at other items to recycle and ways to market the program and encourage greener purchasing and energy efficiency,” Moore said.
The e-waste event is only one effort the campus is making in an effort to preserve the environment, but is a very important step, according to Bragg.
“When you see the results of not disposing of things properly it makes you wonder what we’re doing to future generations,” Bragg said. “It makes you ashamed of what we’re doing.”
For complete details on the ETSU e-waste event, or for a list of items that are acceptable, please visit http://www.etsu.edu/ewaste/default.aspx.

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