Comedy Central is giving students at the University of Miami a chance to win VIP tickets to the new show “Workaholics” at the South Beach Comedy Festival as part of their “Address the Mess” campaign.
All students have to do is donate their old electronics between February 28 and March 3. Representatives from Comedy Central will be on campus collecting the electronics in the bins located outside the Student Government Office at the University Center.
Throughout the year, consumers are bombarded with advertisements about new gadgets hitting the store shelves; however, there aren’t as many commercials promoting the proper disposals of these products.
McKweon said that some electronics contain lead, mercury, and other poisonous chemicals, which can have devastating effects on the environment.
“If each person at the school donates and disposes of the materials properly we have reduced the impact of the U,” McKweon said, “Helping to create a greener planet.”
One cell phone can account for thousands of gallons of polluted ground water and 70 percent of the toxins found in our nation’s landfills come from electronics and only 10 percent of used or broken cell phones are recycled each year, recyclingforcharities.com reported.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” said Nicole Platt, coordinator for corporate responsibility at Comedy Central. “And scary and the number keeps growing unless someone does something about it.”
Each day, the student who recycles the most will receive VIP tickets to the “Workaholics” show.
Faculty members can donate too. Like students, employees who contribute the highest number of electronic equipment can win prize packs and tickets to popular comedian Wanda Sykes performance during the South Beach Comedy Festival.
Jahnile Smith may be contacted at jsmith@themiamihurricane.com.