Dispose of old electronics responsibly at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center’s e-cycling event on Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Rain or shine, participants can recycle old cellphones, used vehicle batteries, personal electronic items, unneeded prescriptions, cardboard and more.
The event will be a drive-thru in the aquarium’s east parking lot with participating vendors including AAA Tidewater Virginia, Goodwill Industries, Bay Disposal, Virginia Beach Police Department and, new this year, the 911 Cellphone Bank, where old cellphones will be refurbished and donated to victims of human trafficking.
A cornerstone of the aquarium’s mission, e-cycling events provide a sustainable and responsible way to dispose of electronic items, the aquarium said in a news release.
“The hard plastic in many of these items will never decompose in a landfill. In items such as car batteries, the acid or chemicals in the products can end up in the ground or water run-offs and are corrosive and harmful to the environment,” the release said.
Once items are e-cycled, Goodwill assesses the items for salability in its retail stores and items that cannot be sold will be recycled in parts. Recycling old devices saves energy. It also means that fewer raw materials need to be drawn from nature to create new devices.
Items that will not be accepted during the event include hazardous waste, televisions larger than 50 inches, CRT tube TV’s and commercial copy machines.
For a full list of accepted items, visit virginiaaquarium.com.
The Virginia Aquarium has hosted 24 e-cycling events since 2009 that have collectively diverted more than 338 tons, or about 680,000 pounds, of e-waste from the landfill thanks to dedicated participants.
