MRPC
News
March 11, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Prigge, Tammy Snodgrass or Bobbi Cabaret
(573) 265-2993
SAVE
ELECTRONICS FOR APRIL RECYCLING EVENT
ST. JAMES-Unwanted electronics don't have to sit in the basement or end up
in a landfill anymore. A special E-waste recycling collection is scheduled for
Saturday, April 2 in Waynesville. The event is being organized by the Ozark
Rivers Solid Waste Management District (ORSWMD) and Meramec Regional Planning
Commission for all residents of Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski,
and Washington counties. ORSWMD and MRPC have organized previous community collections
of household hazardous waste and used paint.
The question of what to do with used electronic equipment is an urgent one.
Electronics are a fast growing portion of America's trash-with 250 million computers
destined to become obsolete by 2005. These items can present an environmental
hazard if they are disposed of improperly. With an average of four pounds of
lead in many older TV picture tubes or computer monitors, along with other potentially
hazardous materials, electronics require special handling at the end of their
lives.
Additionally, discarded electronic equipment is a concern because electronics
are made with valuable resources such as precious metals, engineered plastics,
glass and other materials, all of which require energy to manufacture. When
equipment is thrown away, these resources cannot be recovered and additional
pollution will be generated to manufacture new products out of virgin materials.
Most unwanted electronic items will be accepted for free at the event, including
computer CPUs, keyboards, mice, network hubs, cables, printers, telephones,
cellular phones, fax machines, small radios and video cameras. A fee of $5 will
be charged for every computer monitor and television collected. Event planners
are working with a contracted vendor to ensure that all collected items will
be recycled properly and completely. Each participant will receive information
about computer recycling and other options available for used computer equipment.
The unwanted electronics collected will be remanufactured and recycled by the
Computer Recycling Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit located in Springfield, MO.
Schools and businesses throughout the seven counties are also welcome to participate
in the electronic waste collection but are asked to contact Meramec Regional
Planning Commission at (573) 265-2993 if bringing more than five items so adequate
arrangements can be made to handle larger volumes of electronics.
ORSWMD is attempting to contact civic organizations throughout the seven counties
to conduct satellite collections in their cities. Several smaller collections
throughout the district would make the possibility of electronics recycling
available to more residents, with the main collection being held in Waynesville.
Further information concerning the location and time of the collection will
be sent to local media closer to the date of the event.
Letters have been mailed to many civic organizations throughout the Meramec
region, however any interested party is encouraged to host a small collection
in their city. Persons seeking information about hosting a collection or interested
in volunteering may contact Bobbi Cabaret, environmental programs specialist
with MRPC by calling (573) 265-2993 or by e-mail to bcabaret@meramecregion.org.
