In Brief

Q&A: First Earth Day Event for Home E-Waste and It's FREE!
Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) is holding its first Earth Day event for Scripps Research employees to dispose of their home e-waste on Tuesday, April 22, from 8 AM to 2 PM, at the CimBio (CarrB) building, on the California campus. The event—part of an EH&S-sponsored series of educational lectures and activities called Safety Gram Live—offers employees the opportunity to dispose of their personal e-waste in an environmentally responsible manner.

Here, EH&S provides answers to frequently asked questions about the event in particular and e-waste in general.

What is e-waste?

E-waste is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life." Old computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are common electronic products. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. Unfortunately, electronic discards make up one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste stream.

How fast is e-waste growing?

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, e-waste is growing three times faster than municipal solid waste. Current data show that roughly 5 to 7 million tons of e-waste is collected in the United States each year. The State of California reports that 65 million pounds of e-waste was collected in 2005, with that figure doubling to 129 million pounds in 2006.

Why should we care about recycling e-waste?

Recycling e-waste will help divert these materials from our area's landfills, which are rapidly filling up. The Miramar landfill, the only landfill in operation within the San Diego City limits and one of three landfills currently in use within San Diego County, is currently scheduled to close in about four years.  

Is e-waste considered hazardous?

Many types of electronic products contain hazardous substances like lead and mercury. The glass screens of old (cathode ray tubes—CRTs), for example, contain about 27 percent lead. When electronic products reach the end of their useful lives, some are considered hazardous waste. In general, hazardous waste may not be discarded in the regular trash, and needs to be sent to a facility that has a permit for treatment (including recycling), storage, or disposal. There is often a charge for this service.

How much does it cost to dispose of e-waste at the Scripps Research Earth Day event?

Absolutely nothing! That's the great part. It is F-R-E-E, free! Zero! Zilch! Zip! Nada!

What types of e-waste may I bring in from home for disposal at the event?

EH&S asks that you limit the e-waste you bring to the event to personal home office equipment including computer devices (i.e. CRTs, monitors, keyboards, wires, and small accessory items), scanners, fax machines, printers, laptops (with or without batteries), cell phones (with or without batteries), radios, stereos, and TVs.

Will all TVs be accepted for disposal?

No. EH&S can only accept TVs of a limited weight and size. Please be sure that your TV's screen is no bigger than 32" diagonal and weighs 50 pounds or less.

How much e-waste can employees bring from home?

Please limit the amount of e-waste you bring to the event to what can reasonably fit into your personal vehicle. Please do NOT bring e-waste from outside of your own home (i.e. from friends, family, and neighbors), since delivery truck space is limited.

Where can the general public dispose of household e-waste?

A number of organizations in the San Diego County collect e-waste for re-use and recycling. California's Integrated Waste Management Board provides an Electronic Product Management Directory on its website for organizations that collect specific types of electronic waste. Please be sure to contact these organizations in advance to determine service details and charges prior to e-waste delivery. For more information on proper e-waste management, visit http://www.erecycle.org.

If employees have e-waste in their labs or offices, what should they do with it?

E-waste that is part of regular Scripps Research operations should be disposed of by contacting Facilities or Environmental Services, x4-9010. A staff member will come by to pick it up. You don't need to wait for an e-waste event.

How can we be sure that all personal information is permanently removed from our electronic devices?

EH&S staff understand the security concerns involved with recycling sensitive materials. For this event, EH&S has partnered with E-World Recyclers to ensure complete data destruction. E-World Recyclers shreds all hard drives from personal computers using a high-powered industrial shredder that turns hard drives into 1 inch confetti.

Where, exactly, is the event?

A map can be found on the EH&S website at http://www.scripps.edu/researchservices/ehs/ewaste.html.

Who are the contacts for more information?

For questions and additional information, please contact EH&S (x4-8240), Julio Giannotti (x4-8462, julio@scripps.edu), or David Hinton (x4-2291, djhinton@scripps.edu).

Library Tip: APA PsycNet Free Trial
Kresge Library staff have arranged for free trial access to American Psychological Association (APA) PsycNet through Wednesday, May 7.

APA PsycNet includes access to:

• PsycInfo database, which offers comprehensive coverage of psychological literature
• PsycArticles, which provides the full text of many APA journals, including Behavioral Neuroscience , Developmental Psychology , Journal of Experimental Psychology, and Neuropsychology
• PsycBooks, with full-text chapters of APA books
• PsycExtra, which provides gray literature abstracts and full-text
• PsycCritiques, offering book reviews
• Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms

To participate, go to the website http://psycnet.apa.org/ and sign in with Username: scelc317 and password: apa.

Multiple users can sign in at the same time. If you currently use PsycInfo on Ovid for your research, please try this alternative platform and let library staff know what you think.

For more information or to share comments, contact the Kresge Library Help Desk, x4-8705 or helplib@scripps.edu.

Lunch & Learn: "Assertiveness 101"
Daphne Lurie, counseling psychologist in the Counseling and Psychological Services Department, will present "Assertiveness 101," on Tuesday, April 22, from noon to 1 PM as part of the ongoing Lunch & Learn employee seminar series. Participants will learn what appropriate assertiveness is, explore four common interpersonal styles, and determine how they can apply assertiveness techniques in daily interactions. The workshop, arranged by the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services, will be held in the Keck Amphitheater, Beckman Building, La Jolla, California campus.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu