AtWork! plugs in to statewide electronics recycling effort

Evergreen State consumers recycle old electronics by the bushel — more than 100 million pounds of outmoded computers, monitors and televisions since January 2009.
The haul is equal in weight to 181 fully loaded Boeing 787s.

Some 400,000 pounds of the statewide tally started as drop-offs to AtWork! The nonprofit organization helps connect employers and people with disabilities.

AtWork! operates a recycling center in Issaquah. The organization started collecting electronics in 2009 as the state rolled out E-Cycle Washington, a program to collect old electronics.

“That 200 tons of electronics has translated to more than $65,000 in revenue for our organization,” said Andrea Simmonds, director of development for Bellevue-based AtWork! “For us, every dollar that’s made in one of our social-enterprise businesses is a dollar that we can plow back into our mission of helping people with disabilities to find jobs in the community. So, for us, it’s kind of a win-win situation. We get to help the environment and it helps our ability to execute our mission.”

The organization sends, on average, two full trailers to E-Cycle Washington for processing twice each month.

Schools in the Issaquah School District also joined in the e-cycling effort. Liberty High School parent volunteers joined e-cycling nonprofit organization 1 Green Planet to host drop-off events during the school year.

AtWork! plugs in to statewide electronics recycling effort