E-Cycle Wisconsin Surpasses 100 Million Pounds Of Recycled Electronics

Wisconsin’s e-waste recycling program turned three years old earlier this year, and has exceeded 100 million pounds of old electronics.

Sarah Murray is coordinator of the E-Cycle Wisconsin program for the Department of Natural Resources. She says while 100 million pounds of e-waste sounds impressive, she believes state residents are just scratching the surface.

“Electronics overall in the country and probably in the world are the fastest growing component of the solid waste stream. It’s still not a huge amount compared to the other things we throw away, but it’s just growing very quickly and if anything, we are getting rid of electronics more quickly these days.”

The E-Cycle Wisconsin program has 400 registered collection sites, and is in all but three counties (Florence, Iron and Marquette).

The program is funded primarily through electronics manufacturers and fees charged to those who recycle materials.

Murray says whether the device is old or new, it likely contains plastics and metals that can be recycled and contains either lead or mercury which shouldn’t go in landfills.