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The University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Public Schools held an E-waste recycling event at Pioneer High School, workers collected TV's, computers and other electronics, Saturday April, 27.

(File photo)

University of Michigan and Ann Arbor Public Schools are partnering in an annual free e-waste recycling event that ends today.

Members of the public are invited to drop off their e-waste — including unwanted laptops, desktops, televisions and telephones — from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at the Pioneer High School Parking Lot at 610 W. Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor.

"Each year, thousands of people stop by to take advantage of this environmentally safe manner for disposing electronics," Andy Berki, manager of U-M's Office of Campus Sustainability, said in a release. "It's exciting to see the community engaged in the proper disposal of their electronics and the effort to keep potentially harmful materials out of the landfills."

The U.S. is the world's largest generator of electronic waste and created nearly 9.4 million tons in 2012; an average of 65 pounds per person, according to data provided through an e-waste initiative led by the United Nations.

Cars filled with electronics lined up for The University of Michigan's Office of Campus Sustainability and the Ann Arbor Public Schools held an E-waste recycling event at Pioneer High School, Saturday April, 27.

Donated e-waste is disassembled, destroyed and recycled in North American facilities. Data storage devices are mechanically shredded.

The e-waste drop-off event began on Thursday, and businesses could drop of waste on Thursday and Friday. Saturday is earmarked for the public drop-off.

There's an online registration for the event at http://michigan.poweron.com/p/register.

This is the seventh year the university and Ann Arbor Public Schools have sponsored the event. Since 2008, the event has filled a combined total of 106 semitrailers and diverted a total of 1,374 tons of electronic waste from local landfills.