Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory save money and reduce their impact on our environment by jointly recycling electronic waste. Through a contract with Intercon Solutions, a Chicago-based company, the laboratories' old computers, monitors and accessories that are not claimed from the federal excess system are hauled away, broken down, and the components sold to companies that recycle them.

Fermilab has recycled electronics through Intercon Solutions for almost two years. Three months ago, Argonne employees concerned with pollution control contacted Fermilab's Business Services Section to join the recycling efforts. "Argonne saves about $20,000 every year by recycling their electronic waste with Fermilab," explains Jack Kelly, Property Manager in Business Services.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 30 million computers are thrown away every year, of which only about 4 million are recycled. Recycling electronic waste reduces the amount of toxic chemicals in landfills. Recycling also reduces the pollution created when new components are manufactured. Fermilab and Argonne together generate about 4 tons of electronic waste every month, which is now used to create new products. "It's great that two DOE laboratories can work together and make a program like this work," Kelly says.