E-Cycling/Donations Drop-off Today at GEICO/Goodwill

You have a chance today between 9am and 1pm to get rid of your old electronics and donated any usable household goods at the same time. Goodwill and GEICO have put together one of the region's largest e-cycling and donation drives. Here's what you need to know:

On Saturday, January 28, GEICO will accept community donations for Goodwill at 5260 Western Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD between 9am and 1 pm.  Donors can bring their electronics, clothing, housewares and furniture.  A Goodwill truck will be at the site.

All computers and accessories will be recycled through the Dell Reconnect Program. Computers and parts do not need to be in working condition.

All other donations will be resold through Goodwill’s chain of retail stores. Sales help provide job
training and employment services to people with disabilities and disadvantages throughout the
Washington, DC metropolitan area. For more information click here.

Recycle Your Electronics at the Zoo

Now there's a new place to drop off your old cell phones, MP3 players and other electronics at the Zoo. A new receptacle at the Great Ape House invites visitors to drop off old electronics.

By recycling your personal electronics at the Zoo you help in three ways:

* You help preserve the environment Cell phones and other electronics contain a variety of metals and chemicals that should not be placed in landfills. Recycling phones allows these items to be disposed of properly. Donated phones may also be refurbished. These phones are provided to those in need of a phone for emergencies who are unable to afford one.

* You support the National Zoo When you drop off cell phones and other electronics in this bin or at the Visitor Center, FONZ sends them to our partner ECO-CELL to be safely recycled or refurbished. FONZ then receives money for these items that is used to support conservation efforts around the Zoo.

* You protect gorillas and their habitats Large deposits of coltan, a metallic ore used in cell phones and other electronics, are found in areas of Africa that are home to gorillas. There has been a dramatic rise in poaching gorillas for bushmeat as part of the rush to mine this coltan. Phones donated here are either safely recycled or refurbished and then sold or donated back into the market. This lessens the demand for new coltan to be mined and lessens the impact on gorillas and other wildlife.

Jumpstart your spring cleaning by bringing in all of your old cell phones, cell phone accessories, iPods and MP3 players, handheld game systems, GPS handheld units, laptops, E-readers and portable hard drives to the Zoo, and invite your friends, family, and other visitors to do the same. Items can be dropped off in the receptacle at the Great Ape House or at the Information Desk at the Visitor Center.

Looking to Dispose of Electronics Environmentally? Power Purge & Shred, Apr. 27

Spring cleaning goes electric in Crystal City with the annual Power Purge and Shred.

When:   April 27, 2011 from 7am – 7pm.
Where:  20th and Bell Street, 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, VA

The Power Purge & Shred allows area businesses and residents to safely and securely shred and recycle unwanted and outdated documents and electronics.

Partnering with the eCyclers division of the Kane Company, the Power Purge & Shred drop-off site will take everything from batteries, desktop computers and laptops, to TVs, monitors and microwaves. The eCyclers' strict chain-of-custody maintains control over the electronics from the moment they pick it up until it is safely, securely and responsibly destroyed by their personnel and subsequently delivered to a US EPA-approved recycler. Skeptics can even watch the eCyclers team physically destroy their hard drives with an onsite "hard drive crusher" and walk away with a certification of secure destruction and rest assured that the equipment will never find its way to offshore toxic waste sites.

Documents will be shredded on site courtesy of the Office Shredding division of the Kane Company. Document destruction can help reduce the risk of exposure by ensuring proper compliance with existing privacy laws and keeping abreast of new or updated federal regulations. The Kane Company can also help ensure compliance with the guidelines of corporate ethics programs, safeguard public image, and protect businesses, customers, and employees from identity theft.

This is a project of the Crystal City Business Improvement District.