MRPC News Release
May 15, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Prigge or Tammy Snodgrass, (573) 265-2993
The Cuba Chamber of Commerce helped sponsor the Cuba collection while the city of Salem assisted with the Salem collection.
When the two events concluded, over 80 cars had dropped off unwanted electronics. The collection netted 58 computers, 84 computer monitors, 50 televisions, 45 printers, 52 keyboards, 22 landline telephones, 14 VCRs, four microwaves and a variety of other used electronics. The event was open to all residents and businesses of Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski, and Washington counties.
"We were hoping for greater participation, however, we are pleased that residents in five of our counties were able to take advantage of this opportunity to properly dispose of unwanted electronics," said Tammy Snodgrass, MRPC environmental programs manager. Rain hampered the April 29 collection in Cuba.
MRPC hired Computer Recycling Center, a nonprofit company from Springfield, MO, to process the collected items. The company takes picture tubes from monitors and televisions to Doe Run, where the lead can be recovered. Older television tubes and computer monitors can contain as much as four pounds of lead. Most of the other used items are disassembled, and the various components recycled.
The cost of the project was covered by the Ozark Rivers District’s grant program, that is financed through a statewide, tonnage-based tipping fee collected at landfills. Participants were asked to pay half the cost for recycling the lead glass on the computer monitors and televisions–five dollars–with the grant covering the other five dollars.
The question of what to do with used electronic equipment is increasingly asked. Electronics are a fast growing portion of America's trash—with 250 million computers destined to become obsolete this year. 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.
MRPC is an active, voluntary council of local governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Pulaski, Phelps and Washington counties. The 52-member volunteer board, made up of elected officials and appointed representatives, works to enhance the quality of life in the region. A professional staff assists member communities and counties in the areas of economic and community development, environmental planning, business loans, ordinance codification, rental assistance, child care and housing.
MRPC provides administrative services to the Ozark Rivers District and helps the district implement its plan, which focuses primarily on recycling, education and assisting large waste generators with waste reduction. Persons needing solid waste information should contact Tammy Snodgrass or Nongluk Tunyavanich at (573) 265-2993.
The contractor prepares to load an oversized copier into th ecollection truck
at the Cuba electronic waste collection. This oversized unity was one of more
than 400 electronics collected.
–30–