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Rules
The Electronics Reuse and Recycling Campaign (ERRC) is open to federal government agencies, departments, and facilities. State government agencies are not eligible.
The campaign kicks off at 9:00 am Eastern on America Recycles Day, November 15, 2007. Participants may count and report eligible electronic equipment reused or recycled between 12:01 am Eastern, on October 1, 2007 and 11:59 pm Eastern, on September 30, 2008.
The four campaign regions are:
- East (EPA Regions 1, 2 and 3)
- West (EPA Regions 8, 9 and 10)
- Midwest (EPA Regions 5 and 7)
- South (EPA Regions 4 and 6).
The six campaign categories are:
- Small Federal Facility (Civilian)
- Small Federal Facility (Military)
- Medium Federal Facility (Civilian)
- Medium Federal Facility (Military)
- Large Federal Facility (Civilian)
- Large Federal Facility (Military)
Small federal facilities are defined as facilities with 500 or fewer employees; medium federal facilities consist of 500 to 2,500 employees; and large federal facilities consist of over 2,500 employees.
Recognition will be given to the registered federal facility that reuses and/or recycles the highest total weight of electronics during the campaign period within each region and each category (a total of twenty-four awards). Recognition will also be given to the agency that reuses and/or recycles the highest total weight of electronics among their registered facilities. The total weight will be calculated based on the sum of the reported data from registered facilities.
All winning facilities must report their total weight(s) to ERRC Headquarters by 11:59 pm Eastern, on September 30, 2008 and will be required to provide supporting documentation to verify the quantity of electronics reported as reused and recycled.
How to Participate
1. Register for the Electronics Reuse and Recycling Campaign
Register online now to compete in the 2007-2008 ERRC! Facilities can register until the close of the campaign but are encouraged to register early.
2. Collect Electronics for Reuse or Recycling
Identify equipment that is available for reuse or recycling, and work with the proper property management officials for final disposition. Refer to FEC's guidance on GSA procedures for the Transfer, Donation, Sales and Recycling of Electronic Equipment (PDF, 88 KB)
FEC encourages following the End-of-Life Electronics Management flowchart:
For ERRC, acceptable electronics include:
- Personal computers
- Laptop computers
- Printers
- Servers
- Monitors
- Keyboards
- Mice
- Other IT equipment and electronic office equipment, including
- Audio/visual equipment (VCRs, camcorders)
- Mainframes
- Copiers
- Fax machines
- Scanners
- Multifunction imaging equipment
- Calculators
- Typewriters
- Cell phones
- Personal digital assistants
- Power supplies
- Telephone systems
While we encourage recycling to the maximum extent possible for the purpose of this competition, unacceptable materials include:
- White goods such as refrigerators, air conditioners, stoves, microwave ovens, etc.;
- Large pieces of non-personal computer based mission specific equipment;
- Laboratory or other scientific equipment that contains radioactive sources or chemicals, or requires decontamination before an electronics recycler can safely handle them;
- Personal computer based medical equipment that has not been properly decontaminated;
- Light bulbs;
- Lead acid batteries;
- Hazardous waste;
- Liquids such as paint and cleaning solvents.
For CIVILIAN AGENCIES – Excluded from the ERRC are employee home computers. For information on reusing and recycling employee personal equipment go to EPA's Plug-In To eCycling Program.
For MILITARY AGENCIES – Military facilities may count eligible electronics collected from military personnel and family members who reside in government housing/barracks, which are reused or recycled during the campaign period. Military facilities will report the weight of reused and recycled federally-owned electronics and non-federally owned electronics separately.
3. Prepare Equipment
For Reuse: Reuse equipment within your agency; donate equipment to schools through the Computers for Learning program; transfer equipment to other federal agencies; or donate equipment to eligible state or non-profit organizations.
For more information on donating your equipment to schools, visit GSA's Computers for Learning Web site, or the DOD equivalent. Register to participate in Computers for Learning and identify schools that may be able to use the equipment.
- Prepare equipment as suggested in the FEC fact sheet: Preparing to Transfer or Donate Your Facility's Used Computers (PDF, 58 KB).
- Provide recipients with the following FEC fact sheet: Fact Sheet for Recipients of Donated Electronics (PDF, 40 KB) | Word (386 KB).
- Record the weight of the equipment donated. If the exact weight of equipment is not known, provide as accurate an estimate as possible. Please see the Assistance section for help with estimating weights.
- If you are a DOD facility, you must use DRMS for reuse and donation services.
- Add any equipment that was not acceptable for reuse to the equipment going to recycling.
For Recycling: Receive final disposition and approval for recycling from either GSA personal property officer or DOD equivalent, or certification of abandonment or destruction action from your facility property manager.
- If you are a civilian agency, select either a READ contractor, UNICOR, or other recycler to provide services. If you are not using READ or UNICOR, use appropriate FEC tools to perform due diligence on the recycler to reduce liabilities:
- Checklist for Selection of Electronics Reuse and Recycling Services (PDF, 68 KB) | Word (272 KB)
- Guidelines for On-Site Reviews of Electronics Recyclers (PDF, 159 KB) | Word (772 KB)
- Record the weight of the equipment sent for recycling. If the exact weight of equipment is not known, provide as accurate an estimate as possible. Please see the Assistance section for help with estimating weights.
- If you are a DOD facility, you must use DRMS for recycling services.
4. Package and Transport Equipment
Packaging: Package electronics appropriately.
- View the FEC electronics packaging tips in the FEC fact sheet: Packaging Used Electronics for Transportation (PDF, 63 KB).
Transportation: Transport equipment for reuse/recycling to designated facilities.
5. Report Data to ERRC Headquarters
In order to receive credit for reused and recycled electronics, ERRC participants must report their results online in the Reporting section of the Web site. To assist ERRC Headquarters in posting ongoing results, ERRC participants should report ongoing results at three points throughout the competition: January 15, 2008; April 15, 2008; and July 15, 2008. All facilities must report final results at the close of the competition on September 30, 2008.
Civilian facilities will report the total weight of reused and recycled federally-owned electronics. Military facilities will separately report the total weight of reused and recycled federally-owned electronics, and total weight of reused and recycled non-federally owned electronics.
ERRC will update the Results section of the Web site at these intervals to provide an ongoing snapshot of which facilities are leading the ERRC.
Please see the Assistance section for additional resources.
6. Winner Verification
At the end of the campaign period, the sponsors will tally the final reported results in order to determine the winners in each category/region, and the overall winner.
Prospective winners will be required to provide supporting documentation to verify the quantity of electronics reported as reused and recycled. Supporting documentation may include, but is not limited to, transfer receipts or slips; recycler invoices; and other GSA or DRMS documentation. This documentation should include the date; a description of the equipment which can confirm eligibility; and the weight. If the documentation does not include the actual weight, prospective winners must provide documentation of how they estimated the reported weight.
In accordance with Office of the Federal Environmental Executive and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy, each prospective winner will be subject to a compliance screen. This screen will utilize the Online Tracking Information System (OTIS) which is publicly available online. In general, facilities that have recent criminal (within the last five years) or certain civil (within the last three years) enforcement activity will be disqualified from award consideration.
If you have questions or need more information, please contact:
Katie Miller
Office of the Federal Environmental Executive
Phone: 202-343-9841
Email: katie.miller@ofee.gov
Federal Electronics Challenge
Participants in this collection event are strongly encouraged, but not required, to become Federal Electronics Challenge partners as well. The Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) is a voluntary partnership program that encourages Federal facilities and agencies to:
- Purchase greener electronic products.
- Reduce impacts of electronic products during use.
- Manage obsolete electronics in an environmentally safe way.
FEC partners receive a variety of benefits, including:
- Resources for developing, implementing and improving an electronics stewardship program.
- Educational training and feedback through monthly partner calls and an annual partner conference.
- Technical assistance through individual support.
- Networking opportunities and knowledge sharing.
- Cost savings through resource efficiency, energy savings, and equipment maintenance practices.
- Strategies to ensure data security through media sanitization.
- National recognition from the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive.
To become a FEC partner, please link to Join FEC!
