Ecycling
By Patrick Donovan
If I say “recycling,” you think, paper, plastic, or cardboard, but how often do you think about your television, light bulbs or even dead batteries? All these products-and countless others-can be recycled and/or reused. The reasons to recycle electronics are the same as recycling anything. The main focus is to keep hazardous and reusable materials out of the landfills. Many of the materials used in electronic production are precious metals, including chromium, silver and copper, but there is also an abundance of hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and acids. By recycling and breaking down these products, such materials can be safely processed and eventually reused in new electronic products.
Ecycling, (recycling electronics) has always been controversial. You've probably seen pictures of computer components shipped across the world and burned to recover the precious metals, or wondered about the safety of personal information on your computer being accessed or stolen. Consequently, it is very important to understand where your electronics are going. If you drop off your Ecycling to the pawnshop or the mom-and-pop electronics store down the road, you can never be sure where your Ecycling is going to be recycled, and if you are dropping off a personal computer, whether or not your personal information will be properly destroyed. It is important to understand that your waste is being properly processed and the people doing it have been certified by the government and are sending your product to the appropriate locations.
Here in the Yampa Valley, we have many resources with which to safely and responsibly recycle electronics. Many businesses in the area such as the Milner Landfill, G&S Mountain Recyclers, and Waste Management accept unwanted or broken electronics, including computers, fax machines, phones and all types of batteries. Whether you are recycling from your home, school, business or even government offices, these companies either have drop off locations or pick-up services or both.
- G&S Mountain Recyclers provides safe and conscientious electronic recycling for your unwanted electronics. With collection services in Steamboat Springs and Longmont, you are able to get rid of your unwanted electronics for a small processing fee per item. There are two pickup times a month in Steamboat Springs and each year in mid June an electronics collection event is held in the Meadows Parking lot of the Steamboat Ski resort. G&S follows all of the state and federal laws for recycling and is a great safe resource to recycle your electronics. For more details on G&S Mountain recyclers, please visit www.mountainrecyclers.com.
- The Milner Landfill is another great resource for Ecycling. They provide a pick-up service or you can drop off your electronics, both for a collection fee. The landfill works closely with G&S Mountain Recyclers as well as Metech, which is a reliable recycling operation on the Front Range. The Landfill also takes batteries and those batteries are sent to INMETCO, a large battery recycler across the country.
- Waste Management is another facility at which you can recycle your old electronics. Waste Management has a large Ecycling plant in Denver at which they recycle about 20,000 pounds of electronics a day. You can drop off your Ecycling at the Steamboat Springs Waste Management site during business hours for a per unit price, but make sure you don't put any of your electronics in your recycling bins because those will not be separated out and can even damage the recycling equipment.
- DVD Player
- TV
- VCR
- Cell Phones
- Monitors
- CPUs
- Laptops
- Printers
- Keyboards & Mice
- Phones
- Copy Machines
- Fax Machines
- Scanners
- Servers
- Computer Towers
- Projectors
- Stereos
Appliances
Now you might be wondering about all those large appliances in your home that may not be covered under the parameters of electronic recycling. In the Yampa Valley we have two options for recycling your large appliances. The Milner Landfill accepts all “white goods” (large appliances including refrigerators, washers, driers, etc) for a fee. Also, the local Sears is taking initiative to properly dispose of old and non-functioning appliances such as freezers, refrigerators and water heaters. If you purchase a new appliance from Sears, they can deliver your new and haul away your old appliance. You can also bring down your appliances yourself and pay a fee, which tends to be a little pricier than recycling electronics because the Freon and other hazardous materials must be properly taken care of. The local Sears collects all these recyclables in large Conex containers and delivers them weekly to a recycling plant in Denver, where all the metals are separated for scrap and saved from entering the landfills. Sears will accept any sort of appliance that they sell including water heaters, but they don't accept the types of electronics they sell such as TV's. Information about their program is available at their store in Riverside Plaza on the west end of town.
Batteries
Whether the battery is from your remote control, or is the rechargeable battery from your laptop, it is recyclable, and the toxins and precious metals inside those batteries will do nothing but harm if placed in a landfill. Batteries are very easy to recycle and most often free. A convenient place to dispose of these batteries is the City buildings on 10th Street in Steamboat Springs. These batteries are then brought to the Milner Landfill for shipment to recycling centers including Batteries Plus, a large battery provider and recycler. Or you can even bring your batteries, big or small, directly to the Milner Landfill. You can also drop your batteries at Radio Shack in Central Park Plaza in Steamboat; these batteries are then processed by one of the largest battery recyclers in the nation, INMETCO. You can even deal with the company and send them your batteries directly, just visit the website at www.inmetco.com. If you are just trying to get rid of an old car battery, NAPA Auto will collect those for you.
Acceptable Batteries
- Nickel metal hybride
- Nickel cadmium
- Alkaline
- Nickel-iron
- Silver oxide
- Lithium ion and mercury-free zinc carbon (carbonaire)
- Sealed lead acid
- Car Batteries
- Household Batteries (AAA, AA, D, etc.)
- Laptop Batteries
- Cell phone Batteries
- Hearing Aid Batteries
This list includes but is not limited to:
Light Bulbs
Consumers are often confused about what to do with burned out light bulbs because there is little information about the most ethical way to deal with them. Here in the Yampa Valley we have a few options for a responsible consumer to dispose of used light bulbs. In Steamboat you can turn to Light Works to help you with disposal of light bulbs and fluorescent tubes. Light Works will sell you a prepaid shipping and handling container which you can send directly to Veolia Environmental Services, one of the world's largest recyclers. Or, if you decide to purchase replacement bulbs from Light Works, they will recycle your old ones for free. If you are not planning on buying new bulbs, you can pay $3.00 for each bulb. Commercial and construction customers can even arrange to recycle large numbers of bulbs.
Another local source is the Yampa Valley Electric Association (YVEA). Many of us here in the Valley rely on these folks for our electricity and they are now offering CFL bulb collection, which they send onto a program from Waste Management called Lamptracker (www.wmlamptracker.com). However they are only collecting CFL bulbs and not fluorescent tubes. They also provide a large selection of residential CFL bulbs to purchase at wholesale prices at their office location in downtown Steamboat Springs.
Many people are concerned about the cost of Ecycling and would much rather just throw away their electronics instead of paying for them to be recycled. This is understandable from a monetary point of view, but is just irresponsible for anyone to practice in these days of environmental awareness. Not only is Ecycling just as important as regular recycling, but it also provides an opportunity for reuse by allowing still-functioning electronics to be donated to people or programs who cannot afford new equipment. So many resources can be saved by simply recycling that old television or car battery. Do your part and properly recycle all your used and unwanted electronics.
Features
The Recycling Issue
Recycling Mythbusters
Sorting and Collecting 101
Conservation-wise Construction
Departments
Decor & Style
Money & Finances