Goodwill of Central Iowa Leads the Region in Electronic Recycling Commitment
Goodwill of Central Iowa, the largest recycler in the region, diverted 309,000 pounds of electronic waste from ending up in local landfills in 2019. Goodwill accepts old monitors, printers, cables, routers, phones, tablets and other electronic accessories as part of their e-waste recycling program.
Goodwill of Central Iowa is expanding their corporate e-waste program in 2020 to better deliver on their commitment to sustainability in Central Iowa, providing businesses with a convenient and cost-effective way to recycle unwanted consumer electronics responsibly.
“Goodwill is a leader in the e-waste recycling space, and we’re excited to connect with businesses even more in 2020. Most people know us for our thrift stores but our commitment to recycling is something we’re just as passionate about. We’re happy to lead Central Iowa toward a more sustainable community through responsible recycling practices,” Jackie Norris, Goodwill of Central Iowa CEO said.
In the Des Moines metro area, 24 million pounds of e-waste is generated each year, with only around 13 million pounds being recycled. (numbers based on industry standards)
Through socially innovative partnerships with corporate partners, such as Dell, as well as other organizations, Goodwill diverts any brand of computers and electronic equipment from landfills and provides consumer education on environmentally responsible electronics disposal. These Goodwill programs create job training and employment opportunities for people in need of work — from collecting and sorting jobs to more skilled positions.
With on-site pickup options and donation drive bins available for placement, Goodwill of Central Iowa provides a solution to removing your e-waste while supporting their primary mission of providing job training opportunities to people with barriers.
Last year, Goodwill of Central Iowa raised $27,500 to support their mission by refurbishing and selling electronics that still had useful life left in them on ShopGoodwill.com/Des-Moines, Goodwill’s e-commerce platform. This revenue supports Goodwill’s paid employment training programs for people with barriers through industry-certified programs such as the Warehouse, Packaging and Logistics training program, which is bringing in a record number of participants in 2020.
“We process, repair or recycle parts from damaged electronics for resale through our Goodwill retail store locations and online stores. Any items that do not pass our multi-point rigorous testing will be responsibly recycled with our audited recycling partner,” Eric Prosperi, Goodwill of Central Iowa Director of Commercial Services said.
Rapid advances in technology have led to a continuous stream of new digital products, augmenting electronic product ownership per person and decreasing the life span of electronics such as mobile phones, computers, televisions, etc. This, in turn, has increased e-waste volumes worldwide.
“Goodwill of Central Iowa works with hundreds of local businesses in a variety of ways, including production services, kit packing, fulfillment, catering and more. This makes us uniquely suited to work with businesses to handle their e-waste as well,” Prosperi said.
Contact Eric.Prosperi@DMGoodwill.org to learn more about an e-waste recycling partnership with Goodwill of Central Iowa.
About Goodwill of Central Iowa
Goodwill of Central Iowa is a non-profit organization that uses a donated goods retail infrastructure to support programs improving the quality of life for anyone facing a barrier to employment across its 22-county region. Through industry-certified skills training programs and employment services, the organization is dedicated to inspiring all individuals to achieve independence through meaningful employment, believing that by improving lives, we improve our communities. In 2019, Goodwill of Central Iowa served 6,790 individuals through mission programming, including placing 558 in employment. In the last 10 years, Goodwill has served over 40,000 Central Iowans, with more than 5,000 placed in jobs. Learn more about Goodwill of Central Iowa through our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Press Contact
Carly Flaws
Marketing Director
Goodwill of Central Iowa
carly.flaws@dmgoodwill.org, 515-265-5323 ext. 330