County making strides in recycling program
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There are few electronics that will not be accepted at the annual E-Waste recycling day coming later this month at the Lake County transfer station.
But while Solid Waste District program manager Mark Nelson saw a large increase in the amount received a year ago from the program’s inaugural effort, he anticipates with this valuable effort the horde of old or unusable and replaced electronics eventually will decrease, instead settling into a more stable yearly average.
Nelson will explain the program, scheduled for May 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and give an overview of recycling at the Ronan Chamber of Commerce luncheon at noon May 3 at the Mission Mountain Golf Course.
Some 13,000 pounds was collected at last year’s event, more than twice as much in the inaugural year (5,000 pounds).
Nelson anticipates because of additional publicity and a remaining backlog, even more computers, printers, stereos, copiers, speakers and virtually every other kind of electronics will make their way to the transfer stations this year where volunteers separate the material for trucking to Kalispell and eventually to California. This effort not only keeps this tonnage out of the waste stream at the landfill and the possibility of toxic metals like lead (roughly 4 pounds in a CRT monitor), cadmium and mercury leaching into the soil, but also saves the $39 a ton it costs to truck such material to Missoula for disposal.
Lake County pays 30 cents a pound to dispose of the e-waste, which eventually is gleaned for such things as metal, plastics, lead and even in some cases, reusable computer chips.
While the effort is not completely self-sustaining, it is partially financed by a long list of sponsors committed to the valuable effort.
The first 500 pounds is free, while disposal of additional weight is charged 35 cents a pound.
Household alkaline batteries and fluorescent tube/light bulbs will not be accepted.
A complete list can be found at www.lakecountyrecycling.com. For more information about the Lake County effort, call 883-7323.
And for more information about electronic waste recycling, visit yellowstoneewaste.com.
