Personal Electronic, TechnoTrash, and Alkaline Battery Recycling and Document Shredding

Tuesday, April 25th from 11am – 6pm, and

Wednesday, April 26th from 6am – 1pm

Many of you asked for greater flexibility for this event and LiveGreen listened!  We will continue to hold it over 2 days to make it easier for you to come, and have increased the hours around lunch time to make it easier for you.  Please note, we’ll be collecting at different times each day to allow different shifts to drop off items.  Have more items that you can fit in you car?  You can swing by both days!

Bring your personal electronics for recycling and documents for shredding.  This is our top requested event, and this year we are collecting even more items!  In addition to personal electronics and personal documents to shred, we will take personal alkaline/single use batteries for recycling as well as “techno-trash”.

Reusing is the best alternative! 

If your electronics still work, please consider donating them rather than bringing them to us.  Goodwill accepts most electronics, Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts appliances, and the Salvation Army , Open Door Mission, and/or Paralyzed Veterans of America will  accept most items.  Click on the charity for more information.  Most of these groups will come to your house and pick items up for free, and will accept items we won’t, such as clothing.  Victim services need cellphones for emergency situations, and the Women’s Center for Advancement uses them to help women.  The Henry Doorly Zoo collects cellphones to raise money for The Orangutan Conservancy.

Some charities and thrift stores will accept VHS tapes, if they were originally a purchased item.

 

If your item is broken or not eligible for a charity, please bring it to us.

Here’s what you need to know:

Who: All Nebraska Medicine and UNMC faculty, staff, and students are invited to this event.  This event is not open to the public.

When:Tuesday, April 25th from 11am – 6pm AND Wednesday, April 26th from 6am – 1pm

Where: UNMC Grounds Building (annex 23) in Lot 17, 4650 Jones Street.  Enter by turning north onto 45^th from Leavenworth Street.  Follow signs northwest to Grounds Building.  Enter drive through building on South side, exit to North, and onto Saddle Creek Rd.  Click here to see a map.

What: Bring  household electronic equipment for recycling, confidential documents to be shredded, single use/alkaline batteries, and techo-trash.

 

Paper: Any grade of paper that needs to be shredded prior to recycling.  Staples are OK, as are plastic windows in envelopes.  If possible, bring your paper in a paper bag for easy dropoff.  We have to remove the paper from boxes and plastic bags prior to placing them in a bin.

Electronics: anything that has a plug, circuit board, or runs on batteries.  Some items have a fee associated with them as they potentially contain hazardous materials, and thus require special handling procedures.  Hard drives will be physically shredded and this comes with a small fee as well.  We cannot accept major appliances, such as refrigerators, washer/dryers, etc.

Items with recycling fee:

• Desktop computer towers, laptops, and/or hard drives that have been removed from computer – $5
• Flatscreen (plasma/LCD/LED/etc.) TVs and monitors – $5
• Tube TVs and CRT* monitors with a screen up to approximately 32 inches – $10
• Tube TVs and CRT* monitors with a screen over 32 inches – $20
• TV consoles, projection, or wood cased/floor model screens – $25

*CRT stands for cathode ray tube.  CRT monitors have a large casing that extends beyond the monitor or TV and is virtually everything that is not a flat screen TV or monitor.

Items free to drop off:

• Audio equipment
• Cameras
• Cell phones
• CD/DVD drives and players
• Cords and cables
• Data storage devices
• Stereos and/or speakers
• Gaming equipment (e.g. Playstation/X Box)
• Hand held devices
• Humidifiers
• iPods and MP3 players
• Lamps
• Microwaves
• Keyboards and mice
• Servers
• Modems
• PDAs
• Routers
• Telephones and associated materials
• Vacuums

**List is not all inclusive, merely a guide.  If you have questions on a specific item, please contact LiveGreen@unmc.edu

Techno Trash will also be collected for destruction and recycling.  Items must be separate from electronics and paper.  Techno Trash collected:

• CDs/DVDs
• Computer disks; floppy, 3.5” hard, or Zip disks
• VHS tapes (please remove and recycle cardboard covers)

Personal, single use/alkaline batteries will also be collected for recycling.  This includes AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V batteries that can only be used once.  Common brands are Duracell and Energizer.

We cannot accept watch/button batteries or car batteries.  We cannot collect rechargeable batteries of any size.  Rechargeable batteries can be recycled through most Interstate Battery, Lowes Home Improvement, and Home Depot stores, and car batteries can be recycled through many car part/service stores.  Bringing these items will result in us not being to collect any batteries for recycling.

Eye Glass Collection

LiveGreen will collect gently use eyeglasses at this Earth Week event.  We will take them to UNMC Ophthalmology where they will be given to patients at free monthly clinics.

Pop Tab Collection

LiveGreen will also collect pop tabs to take to the Ronald McDonald House.  They use pop tabs to help pay the bills, so families can stay together while children receive medical care.

 

We are not able to accept:

• Light bulbs/fluorescent lights*
• Glass^
• Tires
• Appliances
• Medication**
• Other miscellaneous/non-electric items

*CFLs can be recycled for free at Lowes Home Improvement.

^Glass can be recycled for free at FirstStar Fiber, Target, and Whole Foods.

**Three Nebraska Medicine outpatient pharmacies collect medication year-round.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

If I bring an item that requires a recycling fee, how do I pay?

For items that have a fee associated with them, you can pay by cash or check when you drop off the items.  Checks should be made payable to UNMC.

Where do I bring these items?

We will be in Annex 23 (Grounds Dept.) in parking lot 17, which is immediately north of Broncos.  The address is 4650 Jones St. and a map can be found by clicking here.

Will someone be available to help unload my car if I have a heavy/awkward item?

Yes!  Volunteers from LiveGreen will be available to assist.

What happens if there is bad weather?

This event will take place rain or shine.  We have a covered area for unloading to protect against the elements.

If I bring a computer or hard drive, will it be destroyed?

Yes.  All hard drives are shredded at their site prior to recycling.

Can I bring equipment from work to recycle?

No. This event is only for your personal, household electronic equipment.  All work items need to be surplused through your department.

If I have an electronic item to recycle but can’t make it Tuesday or Wednesday, what can I do?

This is our only collection event this year.  Please check for other recycling/drop off events in your area and/or consider the links above.  Keep Omaha Beautiful has neighborhood cleanup events and free vouchers scheduled until May 20th.