Monroe County on Track to Surpass 100,000 Pounds of Recycled E-Waste

LONG KEY – At Monroe County’s Long Key Transfer Station at Mile Marker 68 last week, 28 pallets weighing 16,824 pounds were collected and transported to Miami for recycling. The contents: obsolete and broken electronics.

It was the sixth load of e-waste picked up this year by family-owned Electronic Recycling Center, Inc., bringing the total to 98,219 pounds. Monroe County is on track to top last year’s collection of 99,500 pounds of e-waste.

“We already are seeing a lot of flat screen TVs,” said Bill Grant, supervisor of Monroe County’s Transfer Stations. “People don’t repair TVs like they used to.”

Obsolete electronics are one of the fastest growing portions of the country’s waste stream. This type of waste includes computer monitors, CRT screens, plasma screens, televisions, LCD screens, laptops, printers, copiers, faxes, calculators, computer towers, stereo systems, keyboards, mouse(s), cell phones, speakers and telephones.

Recycling these items lowers the amount of waste that goes to landfills and helps protect the environment by keeping toxic materials from contaminating the soil and leaching into ground water. Some materials are reused and re-engineered for new and innovative products.

Monroe County accepts residential e-waste free of charge at its three transfer stations. For more information or the addresses of the transfer stations, go to http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/index.aspx?nid=239.

 

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