Dumping electronics in landfills was banned by Arkansas in 2005, according to the Arkansas Legislation Web site. Arkansas is now offering another option for eliminating unwanted electronics.

A recycling program, called Green Fed II, was created by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and UNICOR, a government group.

Now, with Green Fed II, students can send any electronic item to be reused or recycled for free. Green Fed II is often nicknamed the "e-scrap recycling program."

So where are most out-dated cell phones laid to rest? For the law-abiding citizen, the answer is "anywhere but the land-fill." However, some students said they didn't know what do to with their outdated gadgets.

To recycle an electronic device, one can print off a prepaid UPS sticker, place the device in a box and drop it off at a local UPS store.

"Most people will find it troublesome," said sophomore Korinna Torres. "But more people would be willing if they know the effects [recycling] has."

Computers tend to contain hazardous material, such as cadmium and lead, especially in the monitors, said Gary Enzor, recycling coordinator for the UA.

Green Fed II is an opportunity to divert this material from the landfill, he said. "Anything that goes into the landfill can potentially reach water sources as well."

The program is only for private citizens. Because of this, the UA cannot offer a drop-off location for old electronics.

"It's so complex," said sophomore Shayne Henry. He said he thought the process of printing a sticker, packaging the device and driving it to a UPS store wasn't very feasible for many students.

It would be a good idea if there were a more efficient way to do it, Henry said.

However, the UA has long been reusing and recycling their electronic equipment, Enzor said.

Most often the UA tries to reuse products by auctioning them, he said.

More than 1,000 tons of total surplus property, ranging from kitchen grease to tires, has been recycled in one year, Enzor said. It is hard to estimate just how much the UA recycles each year, but the higher priority is to try and reuse products first, he said.

In 2005, the ADEQ estimated that Arkansans recycled 41 percent of their total waste. That was about twice the national average, according to the ADEQ Web site. Just five years prior, however, only about 24 percent was recycled.

Though Arkansas is above the national average in overall amounts recycled, each individual doubles the national average in daily consumption. The Arkansas average, according to the latest 2005 statistics from ADEQ, is 9.3 pounds a day per Arkansan.

Green Fed II is the result of a pilot program started in 2004. UNICOR, also known as the Federal Prison Industries, processes all of the recycling materials. The pilot run of the program produced 88,538 pounds of electronics that were recycled or reused, according to the ADEQ Web site.

Green Fed II is limited to the state of Arkansas, but other states are considering similar programs, according to ADEQ.

Dell also offers free returns on any of their products. Laptop and desktop computers, as well as other equipment, can be donated for reuse or recycled, according to the Dell Web site.

Apple boasts products that are becoming increasingly better for the environment by reducing certain emissions in production. Some of their products, such as monitors, conserve as much as 80 percent more energy than their previous models, according to the Apple Web site.

A buyer's old computer or monitor can be sent in for recycling upon purchase of an Apple computer or monitor, regardless of the brand.

Source: thetraveleronline.com