Cost of electronic recycling becomes a burden
The cost of recycling an ever-increasing stream of old televisions, computers and other devices is becoming burdensome to county governments.
The cost recently forced Schuylkill County to suspend inclusion of e-waste in its annual fall cleanup event this year.In Monroe County, Connie Reed, controller for the county Municipal Waste Management Authority, said the authority "has a regular drop-off site at our Blakeslee office for any Covered Device Recycling Act material."County residents can drop off the devices at the office, at 183 Commercial Blvd., from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday."We are fortunate enough to have been able to obtain a contract which is covered under the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) plan," she said.Polk and Chestnuthill township residents can make arrangements to drop off TVs.Tim Bollinger, general service manager for the Lehigh County Office of Solid Waste, said there are two certified electronics recyclers operating within the county borders."We ran two events, and it didn't cost the county a penny," he said. "When people call and ask where can I recycle a TV, I direct them to these companies."The companies are AERC Recycling Solutions, 2330 Southwest 26th St., Allentown (610-433-4011), and GER Solutions, 795 Roble Road, Allentown (610-443-1776).In Northampton County, Environmental Service Coordinator Ken G. Zinis said the decision by electronics retailer Best Buy to stop accepting e-waste hit the county hard."Until February, we relied on the private market," he said. "There were no public events. We had all of those options going. Best Buy took most of the old TVs. But that changed, so we became dependent on the commercial companies in Lehigh County."Now, Northampton will hold public recalling events.The three-hour events are being done by private companies. The county is helping defray the costs, Zinis said.There will be charges for some items, including televisions. Others are free."We came up with this as a stopgap measure during this difficult time," he said.County officials are working with lawmakers to ask the state legislature to come up with a more workable solution, Zinis said."We need to be getting these things out of landfills and off the side of the road," he said.More info:The Department of Environmental Resources has more information about where to take unwanted electronic devices on its website,