The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Rocky Mountain Region hosted its second federally organized home and office electronics recycling event at the Denver Federal Center (DFC) in Lakewood on June 3. The event was from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the south parking lot of Building 67. More than 150 federal and contract employees and their guests recycled 11.29 tons of electronic waste, a 64% increase from last years event. Items accepted at the event included: Monitors/televisions under 20" for an $8 fee, monitors/televisions lager then 20" for a $12 fee, small kitchen appliances (not including AC units or refrigerators). All other electronic items were recycled at no charge.

"We are thrilled by the overwhelming response to this important event and look to expand it in the coming years," said Leslie Plomondon, GSA's Rocky Mountain Region Regional Administrator. "GSA's Rocky Mountain Region is not only taking the lead with our sustainable design for our facilities, but also through our recycling efforts. This event is just one of the many green initiatives in helping to achieve the DFC's vision of becoming the most sustainable campus in the country by 2020."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2005, two million tons of personal technology - laptops, computer monitors, cell phones, printers - went directly to landfills instead of being recycled. Some of the materials used in personal electronics, such as mercury and lead, are hazardous and can release dangerous toxins into our air and water when improperly deposited in landfills. Furthermore, Americans threw away more than 100 million cell phones in 2006. Recycling them could have saved enough energy to power approximately 194,000 U.S. households for one year.

The DFC is owned and managed by GSA, and the one square mile campus currently supports over 6,000 tenants from more than 25 federal agencies and bureaus. The DFC as a whole recycled 334 tons of material in FY 2007, averaging a 34% recycle rate. This includes magazines, newspaper, office paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, tin, plastics, and toner cartridges. By the end of FY 2010, the DFC plans to elevate the recycle rate to 40%. Please go to www.cafr.org for more information on where you can recycle your electronics.

About GSA

GSA is one of the largest public real estate organizations in the country. PBS has an inventory of over 347 million square feet of workspace for 1.1 million federal employees in 2,100 American communities. This includes more than 1,800 government-owned buildings, or approximately 51 percent of GSA's total inventory. The remaining 49 percent is in privately owned leased facilities. Go to www.gsa.gov/r8 for more information.