NEWTON, N.C.,None — In five days, it will be illegal to throw out a TV or computer. They must be recycled properly under a law passed by the legislature in 2010.
Several area agencies are making it easier for residents to abide by the law.
Newton has a designated day for their residents to drop off old TVs and computers and Conover is considering the same and will vote on it in July.
Catawba County will also hold an event four times a year for county residents to do so. Claremont will pick up their residents' electronics and drop them off at the county's quarterly event.
Best Buy is also stepping up to the plate. It will accept any laptop or desktop computer. Although it charges $10, it will give a $10 gift card in return. The business will also accept tube TVs up to 32 inches.
The new law states that computer and TV equipment "is growing rapidly in volume and complexity and can introduce toxic materials into solid waste landfills. It is in the best interest of this State to have convenient, simple and free access to recycling services for discarded computer equipment and televisions."
It goes on to say that while some computers can be refurbished, they shouldn't be thrown out because of the toxic release of materials into the environment.
Items that can no longer be thrown out under the new law include TVs, desktop or notebook computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners and printer-scanner-fax machines. It does not include typewriters, mobile phones, calculators, PDAs, MP3 players, household appliances or large commercial or industrial equipment.
The recycling programs provided by the area governments are free of charge, and are designed to make it easier for residents to recycle.
"We're trying to get it out there as much as possible," said Wilce Martin, Newton public works director. "We're hoping people will bring their stuff, but we aren't really sure how (popular) it will be. We're doing it monthly and we'll see how it goes."
Newton will collect electronics on the second Saturday of each month, beginning July 9. On North Ashe Avenue, where the former Catawba Valley Farmer's Market was held, Newton will collect nearly all types of electronics, not just those applicable under the new law, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Exceptions include toasters, irons, vacuums and white goods, such as refrigerators, stoves and washers and dryers.
After the items are dropped off, Newton employees will put the electronics on pallets and store it at the public works department until the trailer they're stored in is full, Martin said. When it's full the vendor, eCycleSecure, will haul it away. Newton doesn't have to pay them anything to do it.
"They get to salvage the stuff they take," Martin said, "and it's a convenience for the citizens here."
Hickory used to pick up residents' computers and TVs at the curb and took them to the landfill, said Chuck Hansen, the city's public services director. Starting July 1, when the new law goes into effect, Hickory will no longer pick them up at the curb. Instead, Hickory residents are urged to work with Catawba County, who will hold an event quarterly for residents to drop off electronics and other materials. Several other municipalities are suggesting the same. Hickory will still pick up white goods.
Catawba County has held a Household Hazardous Waste Collection day twice a year for several years. On these days, residents can drop off materials ranging from pesticides to mercury to batteries. Electronics and TVs are also collected. The county will continue these twice yearly collections, in May and November. It has also added two additional dates, one on Aug. 6 and one on Feb. 4, at the Blackburn Landfill on Rocky Ford Road in Newton, where they will collect electronic waste, such as computers, TVs, scanners, fax machines and copiers, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Catawba County has plenty of proof that people have been shedding their electronics in past years. In 2010, they collected 89,600 pounds of electronics at the collection events, said Barry Edwards, director of Catawba County utilities and engineering. That's up slightly from 2009, when 86,000 pounds were collected.
"It may increase even more when there are four collection days instead of two," he said. "Because they're banned from the landfill, we may also see an increase."
Edwards said the county decided on four events a year where residents could get rid of electronics and TVs because they thought it would be often enough.
"People will have ample opportunity to get rid of their e-waste," he said. "We get phone calls between the two (events) we do now."
Banning materials like TVs and computers from landfills is designed to reduce the amount of waste in the landfill.
"By capturing valuable materials for reuse and reducing our dependence on landfills, electronics recycling can help us achieve both our environmental and economic development goals," said Secretary Dee Freeman of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. "I encourage all North Carolinians to join in this effort to make the electronics disposal ban a success."
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