The goal was 50 tons and based on the activity taking place yesterday, that goal was going to be met. “This must be at least three times more than the county anticipated,” said Greg Perry of Enviro Services and Training
The goal was 50 tons and based on the activity taking place yesterday, that goal was going to be met.
“This must be at least three times more than the county anticipated,” said Greg Perry of Enviro Services and Training Center, the coordinator for the Electronic Waste Recycling event.
Perry, who had the help of his daughter Jordan to check in businesses and institutions, had little time for anything as the line of pickups, flatbeds and cars snaked around the Vidinha Stadium parking lot.
“This is my second load,” said Sean Magoun, admissions director with Island School who had been waiting for about 30 minutes. “The first load was less than this one. But the good thing is that this is all not going into the landfill.”
Magoun said the bulk of his load involved old computer monitors the school had stored away after making the conversion to LCD flat-screen monitors.
Similarly, Peter Kali of the state’s Department of Accounting and General Services, said he was on his second truckload of materials which was collected from the different public schools on the island.
Kali said there were pallets of material still stored at the Puhi baseyard.
“Enviro Services and Training Center has set up to do more than the 50 tons for the entire event,” said Allison Fraley, the county’s solid waste program coordinator. “We would like to see at least 50 tons for the entire event. The Enviro Services and Training Center people have set up to do at least twice that.”
Fraley said if the collection exceeds its goal, it’s good because those are items that won’t end up in the county’s landfill.
One of the additional features of yesterday’s collection is that it was free to businesses, Fraley said.
“Normally, businesses pay a lot of money to dispose of electronic equipment, but for this event, they get to save money because it doesn’t cost them anything,” Fraley said. “But the big test is today when the event is open to residents.”
Fraley said she wants the residents to be able to take advantage of the collection instead of taking it to the transfer stations or the dump.
One of the company representatives waiting for his turn in the line said, “If anything, it shows that something like this was badly-needed.”
Fraley said that for people who were not able to take advantage of this event, another collection coordinated by the state will be taking place in October.
That event, the Education & Government eWaste Disposal Days 2008, will take place at the Kaua‘i Community College on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25.
According to the county’s Web site, the University of Hawai‘i offers the free electronic waste recycling drive and is open to Hawai‘i residents, all public and private schools and universities. City, county, state or federal branches of the military, small to medium-sized businesses and nonprofits are also eligible.
Kaua‘i residents are invited to drop off their eWaste on Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at KCC.
Schools, businesses and other institutions are asked to pre-register to participate in the free event. The institutional event will be held on Oct. 24 and representatives are asked to visit the UH Web site to pre-register at www.hawaii.edu/ewaste
According to the county’s Web site, all equipment collected will be processed in North America in an environmentally responsible way and recycled into commodity grade materials such as metals, plastics and glass. Recycling and disposal services are provided courtesy of Apple computers.
For more information, visit the county’s Web site at www.kauai.gov or the UH Web site at www.hawaii.edu/ewaste
