E-Waste Collection Center

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E-Waste Facts

The University of San Diego has collected over 250,000 of e-waste since

its opening in April 2011

E-waste is the fastest growing municipal waste stream in the U.S.
Between 2000 and 2006, e-waste generation increased by 52% (U.S. EPA 2007)
One metric ton (t) of electronic scrap from personal computers (PC’s) contains more gold than that recovered from 17 tons of gold ore.
Recycling aluminum uses saves 90% of energy of mining new aluminum.
The EPA calculates that only 25% of 2.37 million tons of e-waste was properly disposed of in 2009.
Over 29.9 million computers were discarded in 2007; an average of over 112,000 computers discarded per day.
Electronic waste is different from our standard waste stream because it contains both valuable materials and hazardous ones.
81% of a desktop computer’s energy use is in MAKING the computer, not using it
According to the EPA, an ecosystem exposed to lead in landfills can experience biodiversity loss, change in community composition, decreased growth and reproduction of plants and animals, and neurological effects in invertebrates.
Mining for new metals is land and energy intensive. To produce 1 ton of gold or platinum results in 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions. So for the 20,000 tons of gold mined each year for cell phone and PC production, that’s 200 million tons of CO2 emissions.
Exporting e-waste to other countries such as China have many negative impacts such as:

  • Bioaccumulation of polybrominated flame retardants in aquatic ecosystems, including in the fish they eat
  • Lead concentrations in their drinking water more than 8x the local health standards
  • Lead and cadmium have been detected in the rice grown in this region
  • Ultimately, the people here are exposed to between 15 and 56 times the maximum amount of toxins that is dangerous according to the World Health Organization.
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Contact Information

Phone (619) 294-9014
usdewaste@gmail.com

Office Hours:
9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Mon - Fri
9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Wed
11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Sat

University of San Diego
5330 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110