The Use of E-Waste at Federal Prisons

UNICOR, also known as Federal Prison Industries, is responsible for the in-prison labor programs that are part of federal correctional facilities. Over the last decade, many federal prisons around the country operated an e-waste recycling program, where organizations and governments can drop off electronic goods for recycling at no charge. In the past, 7 prisons around the country had e-waste recycling incorporated into UNICOR. However, the federal government recently announced the immediate closing of 5 of the 7 plants.

It is a big blow to the recycling industry as well as to groups who utilized the services in the affected locations, as 40 million pounds of material was recycled every year at the facilities. With the cuts to the program, one can expect that number to be less than half in the future.

Which E-Waste Programs Are Being Shut Down?

There are five electronic recycling facilities being shut down. Specifically, the affected locations are in New Jersey, Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania and Kansas. Currently, only two remain open, one in Texas and another in California. However, while announcing the news about those 5 locations, they did announce plans for the construction of a new facility in Pennsylvania, bringing the total number to 3. It is still unknown exactly why they were shut down, and they left various members of the community who used the recycling service disappointed.

What else does UNICOR do?

Outside of the e-waste recycling facilities which deal directly with recycled electronics such as old computers, TV’s and cellphones, inmates at all federal prisons will continue with other core functions of the UNICOR program, which include assembling furniture and others goods. The maximum wage for federal prisoners is a shade over one dollar per hour, so inmates can create a larger profit for the prison than the revenue generated by the e-waste recycling programs.