(Arnold, MO) – Helping protect the environment is part of Arsenal Credit Union’s social responsibility program. This year, the $217 million credit union organized and held nine green events at its branches to assist members and others in the community with responsible disposal of paper, computers and other electronic equipment. “These events also help people protect their identity,” noted Ken Moser, vice president of marketing at Arsenal. “Sensitive documents are shredded on site in seconds, and data on hard drives is erased so it can’t be retrieved by anyone else.” The credit union partnered with American Document Destruction, a local business that is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction, on four paper shred events in April and three more in September. The events were free and open to not only members, but also residents and small businesses in the area, with no limits on the number of boxes or bags of paper that could be brought in. Overall, an astounding 42,550 pounds – 21¼ tons – of paper was collected. That’s equivalent to how much 170 baby elephants weigh! Every ton of paper recovered for recycling saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, plus reduces energy and greenhouse gas emissions, according to Keep America Beautiful, a leading nonprofit organization that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. In June, Arsenal partnered with MRC Recycling, a local business that is an R2-certified electronics and appliance recycler, on two electronics recycling events and collected 16,163 pounds (8 tons) of e-waste. To put that total into perspective, the average car weighs 4,000 pounds. Obsolete, broken and unwanted computer monitors, hard drives, printers, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, microwaves, etc., were safely recycled. Had they been landfilled instead, these items could have contaminated groundwater with toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, leading to health issues such as brain and kidney damage. All items collected were recycled free of charge with the exception of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT/old tube-style) TVs, wood console TVs and big-screen/projection TVs due to environmental management regulations. A CRT monitor contains between four and eight pounds of lead alone, the Electronics TakeBack Coalition reports. Big-screen tube TVs contain even more than that. According to ETBC, about 40% of the heavy metals in landfills comes from electronic equipment discards. Metals, plastics and glass from donated electronic products are valuable materials; recycling such conserves natural resources and avoids air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing virgin materials, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Arsenal will continue to offer paper shredding and electronics recycling events in 2017. Other ways that Arsenal demonstrates being a good environmental steward include providing recycling bins for cans, plastic containers and cell phones at its branches, revamping operational processes to use fewer materials and incorporating energy-efficient designs into new branches.