Portsmouth Herald News: Proper Recycling of Electronics Vitally Important
Filed under: Earth 911 - May 25, 2008
By Jerry Romansky
Dear Jerry:
Our garage has a batch of electronics we would like to get recycled. We have computers, cell phones and an assortment of gadgets. We are particularly concerned with our television sets. When television switches to “digital” in early 2009, our old TVs will not even work.
Friends and family throughout the United States are experiencing the same problem. No one gets a straight answer about how to recycle these items responsibly.
Unless we find a convenient recycling source, I am thinking of placing these TVs and other electronics in the regular trash. How important is it to recycle them?
— Mary. C., Ashland, Va
Dear Mary:
Vitally important. Here is a one-stop, user-friendly recycling hotline. From Earth 911, you can obtain nearby recycling locations at (800) 253-2687 or online at www.earth911.org.
First, remind yourself there is an old-fashioned method of recycling. Relocate the item by selling it, giving it to a friend or donating it to an organization. A product that is old and obsolete for you may be new and useful to someone else. In the case of televisions, of course, that option will not apply much longer. Since non-digital TVs will soon be unusable, you need to dispose of them another way.
It is essential that TVs, computers, cell phones, electronic gadgets and other such products be properly discarded. Otherwise, their hazardous ingredients and other factors make them dangerous. Instead of causing risks and undermining the environment, take advantage of the recycling resources in your area.
For “Seacoast Sunday” readers, one option is the UniWaste Services Corporation, a privately operated recycler that serves the New England States (including, of course, New Hampshire and Maine). It is located at 125 Aviation Ave., in Portsmouth. The telephone number is (866) 522-7711.
York, Maine offers its residents the York Recycling Committee Curbside Program. For information, call the York Town Hall at (207) 363-1000.
For instant access to the complete list (name, address and telephone number of the sites in your area), check with Earth 911.