Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Give your gadgets a decent burial at weekend e-waste collection
E-waste will be collected this weekend at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Cox E-Waste Recycling Event
Events
- Commercial and residential day: Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Residential day: Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (noncommercial recycling only)
Details
- Where: Roanoke Civic Center parking lot
- Cost: Free. No appointment needed
- For more information: Call (540) 266-7044 or e-mail e-waste@cox.com.
If your load is larger than a pickup truck, you will need to schedule a dropoff through Synergy Recycling's website at synergyrecycling.com.
What should I bring?
Acceptable items
- computers (monitors, towers, laptops, keyboards, mice)
- toasters
- cell phones
- remote controls
- televisions (flat panel, tube and console)
- old electronics
- amplifiers/speakers
- CD/DVD players
- phonograph players
- microwaves
- telephones
- fax machines
- game consoles
- digital cameras/camcorders
- printers, scanners, external hard drives, networking equipment
- copiers
What should I leave at home?
Non-acceptable items
- refrigerators
- acid batteries
- power tools
- smoke detectors
- washers/dryers
- generators
- lawn equipment
- hazardous materials (other than accepted e-waste)
For more information on recycling...
The continually evolving market for electronics has left many people with a whole host of outdated devices and gadgets they don't need and don't know what to do with.
Cox Communications is offering up a green, cost-free solution.
With the help of city government and local businesses, Cox will hold a free e-waste recycling event Friday and Saturday at the Roanoke Civic Center where both businesses and the public are welcome to drop off unwanted electronics for recycling.
The local office of Cox set up the drive as a way to take part in the company's nationwide green initiative, said Cox Communications specialist Will Carter.
With the help of 1-800 I GOT JUNK, a trash removal franchise, Cox got in touch with Synergy Recycling, an electronic waste recycling company based in Mayodan, N.C.
Synergy agreed to transport the electronics from Roanoke to their headquarters where they will then disassemble and distribute them for reuse, Carter said.
Metals found in the electronics such as aluminum, gold, and silver will be extracted and resold while other more toxic elements, such as lead and mercury, will be safely disposed of, said Synergy Recycling Co-Manager Joe Clayton.
Recycling electronics is a far better option than dumping in a landfill or shipping it overseas, Clayton said.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2007 only 18 percent of the 2.25 million tons of e-waste disposed of in the U.S. was collected for recycling.
However, Clayton insists that number is increasing, and more and more businesses, residents and city municipalities are opting to take the recycling route.
"Right now, I think everyone is becoming more and more green. The prices of fuel, the prices of metals are making people see we need to break the cycle of one-use."
Clayton declined to predict how many tons of e-waste would be collected.
A similar event in October 2007 sponsored by Hollins University collected 655 tons of unwanted electronics, more than three times what the organizers had expected.
Cox's Jennifer Bowman said the community has responded enthusiastically to news of the recycling drive.
Dave Dibean, Synergy Recycling's director of sales in Virginia, predicts the public "will line up" to recycle their e-waste this weekend.
With a phone ringing off the hook and an already busy pickup schedule, Dibean really doesn't have reason to think otherwise.
