By Tom Kreidel, NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs
NORFOLK (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic partnered with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to collect more than 20 tons of old, unused or broken electronics to be recycled, in an event at Naval Station Norfolk, Sept. 3.
According to Michael Cunningham, the integrated solid waste regional program manager at NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic, the items included monitors, televisions, keyboards, computers with hard drives removed to protect sensitive information, printers, copiers and small appliances.
"Without e-waste events like this, Navy commands would need to stockpile outdated and unused electronics until they could eventually ship the material to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)," said Cunningham. "This process could take several months to complete and the transportation costs can be very expensive."
He added that e-cycling events help ensure proper disposal of these unused items. The electronics items collected that are still operational with be reused by the Navy, with the rest dismantled for recovery of materials to be recycled.
"These events are a good way to raise awareness about the Navy's recycling program," said Cunningham.
He added that he does not have the estimates from DLA on how much money this event saved the Navy, but said a similar event earlier this year at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown netted 8 tons of material, that DLA estimated saved the Navy $250 thousand.
"As it becomes more and more economical to recycle, it becomes much more cost effective to recycle these items rather than dispose of them," added Cunningham.