Please don’t order from this year’s fundraiser—because we aren’t selling anything!
Instead of spending your time selling door-to-door, we’ve asked you to spend your time opening drawers looking for those old cell phones and printer ink cartridges. Instead of asking Grandma to buy some wrapping paper, ask her to give you her broken digital camera. Instead of asking your neighbor to buy a pizza, ask him to give you his broken down laptop.
Lost an earring? New this month, you can even give us your unwanted, broken and mismatched jewelry. I’ve had a twisted gold necklace sitting in my jewelry box for years and was so excited to be able to do something with it and help my child’s school!
Where does it all go? It’s important to note that the company we work with never exports any of this “e-waste” as it is called in the recycling industry. Ninety percent of what they receive is refurbished into usable electronics. The money generated by reselling these phones is then donated to PIE. The other ten percent is recycled at an EPA-certified company in Texas.
The most rewarding scavenger hunt! Please take a moment this week and look around your house to see if you have one or more of these items you can donate to Bloomer Elementary School.
Cell phones
Laptop Computers
Inkjet Cartridges(No Laser or Toner) Note: We have now discontinued accepting laser cartridges from offices.
Gold, Silver & Platinum Jewelry that’s unwanted, broken or mismatched.
Digital Cameras
Digital Camcorders
mp3Players (iPods)
Handheld Game Systems (Gameboys)
Electronic Book Readers (Kindles)
Radar Detectors
GPS Devices
100% of the proceeds from the recycling of these items will benefit the Bloomer Elementary PIE group which works with school staff to fund additional classroom materials, educational assemblies or field trips that are not funded by the school’s budget.
Other ways to help:
Hold a collection at your place of work. See our website for a flyer to handout or post at your work on www.bloomerpie.com.
Spread the word to friends and family. Why pay $4 to recycle a laptop at this year’s Clean Sweep when you can donate it to the school and we can receive money for it?
Come to our end-of-the-year PIE meeting at the elementary school in Room 21 on May 11 at 6pm.New faces mean new ideas and less work for everyone!
Save these items over the summer too. You can drop them off at Bloomer Verizon Wireless or the Bloomer Public Library.
Thank you so much for your help. We truly appreciate your support.
For questions contact Jennifer Schultz from the PIE board at 288-6987,
pie@bloomer.k12.wi.us or see our website for more information at www.bloomerpie.com.
Why recycle these? Can’t I just throw them in my garbage?
Does it really affect Bloomer?
What’s in it? MetalsThe production of cell phones, laptops, ink jet cartridges and jewelry are all dependent on one or more rare metals such as platinum, palladium, rhodium and even gold.
The mining of metals for consumer electronics and jewelry is the #1 cause of toxic pollution in the U.S.
The average U.S. gold mine uses 3,520,000 pounds of cyanide per year.
What’s in it? Cell Phones
An estimated 130 million cell phones are discarded annually in the U.S. alone.
Cell phones contain toxic substances including Arsenic, Antimony, Beryllium, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc which leach into soil and groundwater and form toxins during incineration which have been associated cancer and a range of reproductive, neurological and developmental disorders.
The cadmium from a single cell phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of water. (That’s 1.6 million 12-ounce sodas!)
What’s in it? Laptop Computers
It takes about 600 pounds of fossil fuels and chemicals to create the chips for one personal computer.
70 pounds of water are used to rinse out impurities in a single chip.
The amount of waste generated to produce one laptop is close to 4,000 times its weight.
When you throw away a 5 pound laptop, you are throwing away roughly 20,000 pounds of waste.
