Jackson River Enterprises will be holding an e-cycling event Friday, Oct. 5, and Saturday, Oct. 6.
This will be the second e-cycling event held this year. The first event was held in April during JRE’s annual Earth Day Celebration. At that event, JRE collected over 8,798 pounds of electronic equipment that otherwise would have been landfilled.
In 2011, at JRE’s very first e-cycling event, they collected over 5,000 pounds.
“We hope to keep increasing the pounds every year.
Electronic equipment that is not properly recycled is very hazardous and toxic to our environment,” said Sharon Walthall, JRE director.
When properly recycled, electronics are broken down into all of their core components including ferrous metals, nonferrous metals, plastics, glass and more. When electronics are not properly disposed of lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and polyvinyl chlorides and other heavy metal leaks into the environment.
The toxicological effects of these materials to the human body can lead to brain damage, kidney disease and cancer, as these toxins can end up in the water you drink or the air you breathe.
Last year, of the 2.25 million tons of TVs, cellphones and computer products that became obsolete, only 18 percent were collected for recycling. The other 82 percent were primarily disposed of in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In the U.S. alone, the EPA estimates that nearly 40 million computers become obsolete each year. In addition to computers, devices such as televisions, computer accessories, printers, scanners, fax machines, cell phones, and many more items are also considered e-waste.
All of these items can leak toxic materials into the ground and pollute our water and air quality.
“We considered the event last April a big success,” stated warehouse manager Scott Paitsel. “The biggest issue people complained about was that the hours we accepted items were not easily accessible for people working.”
This year, to try to accommodate more people, the JRE e-cycling event will run Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In connection with the recycling, JRE will also be holding a sale of inventory of discontinued baskets and other items.
The list of acceptable electronic items can be found on our Facebook page at Jackson River Enterprises, at the JRE facility that is opened Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and listed below in this article. If you need any additional information, please call the JRE office at 962-3441.
Electronic Recycling – We will be collecting electronics for Scott Recycling, below is a list of acceptable items.
There is no cost for most electronic; however, there is a $10 charge for all televisions.
List of item that can be electronics:laptop and desktop computers, CRT/LCD monitors, hard drives and modems, plug and play devices, printers/scanners/copiers, commercial telephone equipment, fax machines, power backups and power transformers, miscellaneous electronic business equipment, wires/cables, circuit boards, video game systems, DVD/VCR players, miscellaneous home entertainment equipment, microwave ovens, small electronic household appliances, most industrial scrap, most commercial equipment, office furniture. JRE will not be accepting white goods, refrigerators, freezers, ovens or any other such items.