Santa Clarita Valley residents recycled their unwanted electronics during Emblem Academy’s annual e-waste recycling event Saturday.
“It’s good for the community,” said parent volunteer Curtis Williams. “It gets a lot of the stuff out of people’s garages, backyards and homes, and some of the stuff is pretty toxic, so it’s good to get it out of the landfills.”
This is the school’s fifth consecutive year doing the e-waste fundraiser, according to parent volunteers.
“Our first year, we raised about $340, and we’ve been climbing every year since,” said Andrew Sherman, parent volunteer. “Last year, we raised almost $1,000.”
The school hopes to raise over $1000 with this year’s e-waste fundraiser, according to parent volunteers.
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps collected the materials at the school Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and took the waste to the recycling facility.
“We get paid from the L.A. Conservation Corps. They are kind of the intermediary between the school and the recyclers,” Williams said.
Emblem Academy is designated as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, school in the Saugus Union School District, Sherman said. The proceeds from the fundraiser go towards the STEM-related activities in science technology, engineering and math.
Prior to the event, parent volunteers picked up e-waste recyclables from residents who knew about the event, but weren’t able to come out themselves to recycle, Williams said.
“We just store it here until the event happens,” he said.
The event is once a year depending on how much material they receive, according to parent volunteers.
“If we get more, we may be looking in to having something this spring,” Williams said.
If you want to recycle e-waste, or want more information on Emblem’s e-waste fundraiser, email [email protected].
