How do you visualize what 41,491 pounds looks like? And why would you want to?

First, the second question: 41,491 pounds of electronic waste is what a record-setting 48 Lane County schools—representing nearly every county district—diverted from the landfill during the 2025 Electronics Recycling Competition (ERC) between January and April.

This total shattered all previous competition records.

The competition was a joint effort between Waste Wise Lane County—a part of Lane County Waste Management—and nonprofit NextStep Recycling. 

“This an incredible achievement for everyone who has contributed to the event,” said NextStep Recycling Executive Director Jessica Ahrenholtz.

That e-waste will now be recycled or refurbished and sold at the NextStep ReUse Store at 987 Garfield Street in Eugene. Sales from the ReUse Store support NextStep’s work with underserved communities.

To put these numbers in context, the ERC collected 134,000 pounds between 2015 and 2024. Therefore, this year’s collection was 30 percent of that total.

So, how about the first question: how do you visualize what approximately 41,500 pounds looks like?

Well, here are a few ways. The weight is equal to:

• A large school bus + approximately 30 passengers
• 3.45 adult African elephants
• 10 cars of average weight
• Approximately 830 flatscreen TVs (65-inch screens)
• 110,639 iPhone 16s
• 4,826 gallons of milk

Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams worldwide, so diverting as much of it from the garbage is critical for saving landfill space and preventing toxic materials from entering the environment.

According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the state produced a whopping 6,091,756 tons of e-waste. Put another way, that is the equivalent of approximately 293,579 Electronics Recycling Competitions in just one year.

“Lane County is already a state leader in diverting recyclable and organic materials from the landfill,” said Angie Marzano, Lane County Waste Reduction Program Supervisor. “We believe the county has an opportunity to go even further in these efforts with community-driven efforts like the ERC.”

Eight Lane County schools in four different student population categories won grants to support school sustainability ($500 for first place, $250 for second place), a NextStep Reuse Store gift certificate, and a special recognition award to be given in the coming weeks.

Students and their families were at the heart of these efforts. The following is a rundown of the winning schools.

0-300 students

• 1st: Siuslaw Middle School: 2,371lbs
• 2nd: Oakridge High School: 2,132lbs

301-500 students

• 1st: Veneta Elementary School: 2,521lbs
• 2nd: Anges Stewart Middle School: 2,295lbs

501-700 students

• 1st: Bridge Charter Academy: 3,191lbs
• 2nd: Prairie Mountain School: 1,688lb

700+ students

• 1st: Willamette High School: 1,618lbs
• 2nd: South Eugene High School:1,153lbs

See all the individual school totals at wastewiselane.org/erc. 

 

For schools that didn’t participate this year but want to join in the fun next year, please follow @WasteWiseLaneCounty on Facebook and Instagram or visit wastewiselane.org/erc. School signups will begin again