Intechra collected nearly 45,000 pounds of used electronics during free recycling events April 12 at five of its facilities across the country. The total is up 12.5 percent from its Earth Day collections in 2007.

The electronics recycling company will process the used computers, laptops, monitors, printers, cell phones, TVs and stereos at facilities in Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Hartford, Conn.; and Merrimack, N.H. Intechra also accepted donations at its Jackson, Miss. headquarters.

The same day, Intechra partnered with Dell at their Nashville, Tenn. campus. Roughly 200,000 pounds of computer and electronics were collected from the Nashville community to be recycled by Intechra.

"These events were a great opportunity to serve our communities by providing them secure, responsible recycling for old computers and electronics," Intechra CEO Chip Slack said. "More than 120 tons of e-waste could have ended up in landfills if people hadn't had a place to recycle them."

E-waste (a.k.a. electronic waste) is created by the improper disposal of electronics and accounts for 70 percent of the heavy metals in landfills, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Materials such as lead, mercury, barium and cadmium can cause serious health problems if leached into the ground or water supply.

For computers that can be repaired and reused by charities and others, Intechra undertakes a three-part cleaning of the hard drives to ensure no data is retrievable. If computers or electronics can't be repaired for reuse, Intechra disassembles them into parts and materials for recycling. Intechra's zero-landfill policy ensures that every portion of retired equipment is separated and recycled instead of sent to a landfill.

"We're committed to protecting the environment by eliminating e-waste in landfills around the world," Slack said.

Intechra is the largest and fastest-growing electronics lifecycle management company in the United States, with facilities in Dallas; Los Angeles; Columbus, Ohio; Merrimack, N.H.; Hartford, Conn.; and Durham, N.C. It is headquartered in Jackson, Miss. The company helps businesses retire IT equipment in compliance with federal privacy regulations, state and local environmental laws and in-house policies.

Back to News