host posted on May 02, 2011 12:45
Janesville, WI (May 2, 2011) – A partnership between Universal Recycling Technologies, LLC (URT) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater ensures old computers and other electronic wastes are responsibly recycled, avoiding the landfill.
The partnership is part of the new “TREE” recycling program at UW-Whitewater, developed by the Instructional, Communications and Information Technology department to decrease technology e-waste. TREE is short for Technology Repurposing and Electronics E-cycling.
TREE ensures that campus e-waste is handled in a consistent, sustainable and responsible manner. “Prior to TREE, there was no guarantee that some of the e-waste was ending up in landfills or even that it was getting recycled in the proper manner,” said Adam Hufnagel, TREE supervisor. “This campus-wide program allows us to track where every individual item is going.”
Universal Recycling Technologies, or URT, is a national electronics and waste management recycling organization headquartered in Janesville, Wis. It was selected as a preferred recycling partner because of its commitment to ethical recycling and transparency. URT recycles the university-collected computers that cannot be reused or sold as is.
Electronic waste (e-waste), and in particular the leaded glass used in older model TV screens and computer monitors, is hazardous if not properly recycled. Electronic equipment contains poisons like lead and cadmium, which can leech into the environment, potentially contaminating soil and groundwater. Given that e-waste makes up as much five percent of the U.S. municipal waste stream, the potential for harm is great.
URT is one of the few companies in the nation with proven clean glass-to-glass processing capabilities. Using equipment URT developed, the company is able to recycle obsolete monitors into new cathode ray tube (CRT) glass. Glass is sorted by type and chemistry, and turned into a reusable commodity, with no exposure to the environment. This is the preferred management method of state and federal regulatory agencies.
URT is an e-Stewards qualified recycler (www.e-Stewards.org), following the strictest national standards in the United States today. As an e-Stewards recycler, URT’s customers can rely upon the company to ethically and responsibly recycle old electronics and other wastes.
A recognized industry leader, URT provides end-of-life recycling (de-manufacturing), asset recovery services (ARS), universal waste, commodities, and logistics management services to major market segments including original equipment manufacturers (OEM), retailers, municipalities, and Fortune 500 organizations. Since 2007, the company has been privately owned by Hendricks Holding Company, Inc. (www.hendricksholding.com). To learn more about Universal Recycling Technologies, LLC, please visit www.universalrecyclers.com.