Electronic waste recycling event touted as success
<p>Volunteers prepare a pallet for shipment to ECS Refining in Stockton, Calif. recyclers of E-Waste Saturday Oct. 17. The event was sponsored by Lincoln County, Recycle Eureka, Collective Recyclers, Kootenai Disposal, All Systems Go and MT DEQ.</p>
<p>E-waste volunteers at Kootenai Disposal Oct. 17.</p>
The Lincoln County environmental health department in conjunction with sponsors E.C.S. Refining, Recycle Eureka, Collective Recyclers, Kootenai Disposal, All Systems Go, Alpha Computers and the Montana Department of Environment Quality, hosted a county-wide series of electronic waste recyclng events Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. During the event, 35,177 pounds of electronic waste was brought in for recycling.
Environmental health specialist Jennifer Nelson said the event saved Lincoln County residents more than $20,000 in recycling costs, thanks to an anonymous donor who pays for the transport and disposal of the waste.
“We have an anonymous sponsor who contracts the disposal of the e-Waste on a year-to-year basis,” Nelson said. “Collective Recyclers out of Billings estimated this waste would have cost about $20,000 to move and dispose of properly and the donor covered that whole cost.”
Nelson said the event started back in 2009, but after three years of work they had to shut it down due to lack of participation. The issues, she said, likely stemmed from the fact that residents had to pay for the recycling of their electronic waste. Nelson said last year they connected with the anonymous donor and, working through the various sponsors have managed to make the disposal free for Lincoln County residents.
Last year the event disposed of nearly 17 tons, which was the goal for 2015 – a goal the groups exceeded by more than half a ton.
Nelson praised Libby High’s options class for volunteering to help with the disposal.
“They were amazing,” she said. “We had so many big television sets and heavy things and those kids worked hard.”