Intechra Keeps 40 Tons of E-waste out of Landfills

JACKSON, Miss. - Electronics lifecycle management and recycling company, Intechra, collected more than 40 tons of used electronics during the Earth Day weekend in the seven communities where it has facilities nationwide.

“Responsible reuse and disposal of old electronics is a critical part of our mission,” said CEO Chip Slack. “Earth Day was the perfect opportunity to support our communities and our mission. More importantly, our employees enjoyed the opportunity to give back.”

Intechra will process the collections – including old desktops, monitors, copiers, TVs and even bag phones – to the same standards it offers corporate clients. Intechra has a zero-landfill policy, which means that it separates and recycles all of the glass, metal and plastic from the electronic equipment and does not send any e-waste to a landfill. Intechra will also securely wipe or destroy any hard drives to prevent identity theft using personal information that may be on those drives.

Last year, Intechra diverted more than 24 million pounds of e-waste from landfills. This figure includes Intechra and the companies that Intechra acquired in the last 12 months.

E-waste (a.k.a. electronic waste) is created by the improper disposal of electronics. For example, the average computer monitor contains over eight pounds of toxic material like lead, barium, cadmium and mercury. These materials can cause serious health problems if leached into the ground or water supply while sitting in a landfill. Many municipalities prohibit disposal of electronics into landfills.

“More than 100 million computers become obsolete each year,” Slack said. “Recycling and reuse can play a crucial part in solving the disposal challenge”.