With the beginning of May came the fifth annual Players for the Planet electronic waste recycling drive. The four-day drive ran from May 1-4, and an estimated total of 150,000 pounds (75 tons) of e-waste, including cellphones, computers and printers, was collected.
The annual recycling drive came together through a partnership between many different organizations.
Players for the Planet, a nonprofit organization designed to bring professional athletes together to inspire and educate communities about environmental issues, partnered with the
Cincinnati Reds, who co-sponsored the event and had players like Jay Bruce and Mike Leake in attendance.
Additional sponsors included
Cohen Recycling,
PNC Bank,
Macy’s,
Remke Markets,
Kroger,
Duke Energy,
Green Umbrella Cincinnati, the recycling and solid waste district of Cambell, Hamilton and Butler Counties, and more.
“Over 70 percent of electronic waste ends up in landfills and is not properly disposed of,” says Brewster Rhoads, executive director of Green Umbrella, an alliance of organizations in the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana tri-state area working to preserve the region's greenspace. “This is one opportunity to make sure that doesn’t happen; Cohen Recycling has the highest standard you can achieve for proper recycling of electronic equipment, so they are an important partner in this event.”
The recycling drive took over a different parking lot each day, taking place outside of PNC locations in Colerain, West Chester, Hyde Park and Newport. In total, 1,669 cars participated.
“As far as I know, this is the largest recycling drive of its kind in the country,” Rhoads says. “It’s grown considerably each year, from the amount of sponsors to the amount of e-waste we’ve recycling. We’re really lucky to have the support of the entire Reds organization on this. They’ve helped us take the issue of recycling away from being something political and simply make it a mainstream value.”
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