Electronics recycling a team effort for Earth Month

What do a thousand tube TVs, a handful of cash registers, stoves, and an electric organ have in common? These are all items that will be recycled instead of piling up in a landfill in Indiana!

To celebrate Earth Month, Cook teamed up with RecycleForce to host a community electronics recycling day on April 28 in Bloomington. RecycleForce helps formerly incarcerated individuals to rebuild their lives through job training and placement in their recycling facility in Indianapolis. Cook and RecycleForce partnered for the event because the organizations have shared values and want to break down the barriers to employment that hold people back, while also creating a cleaner environment.

Indiana law requires the safe disposal of electronics (often called e-waste) because these products contain hazardous elements that can cause damage to our natural environment and public health. The safe disposal of these materials typically comes with a $20 price tag at local recycling centers. Cook generously sponsored the costs for individuals to recycle at this event, which eliminated financial barriers for individuals to dispose of these items.

We were thrilled (and a bit overwhelmed) to see thousands of people from local and surrounding communities arrive with their electronic waste for recycling. In five hours, we collected 253,756 pounds of electronic waste (that’s equal to roughly 115,102 kilograms), which eclipsed RecycleForce’s previous record of 170,000 pounds at a single event!

A huge thanks to our employees who came out to the event to recycle or volunteer. We’re excited that we could provide this opportunity to our community and support RecycleForce’s mission to help individuals with job training and placement.

You can learn more at the RecycleForce website. If you would like to get involved in Cook’s sustainability programs, contact Erin Walsworth Kunkel at Erin.Walsworth@CookMedical.com.