LIHU‘E — With just about an hour remaining, almost three containers of electronic discards lined the Vidinha Stadium parking lot Friday. Friday was reserved for businesses to bring their electronic waste to the collection site manned by personnel from Comp
LIHU‘E — With just about an hour remaining, almost three containers of electronic discards lined the Vidinha Stadium parking lot Friday.
Friday was reserved for businesses to bring their electronic waste to the collection site manned by personnel from Comp Recycle, an O‘ahu firm.
Emily Ishida, the county’s Business Recycling Specialist, said there is still another half of the program remaining when residents can bring their electronic waste for recycling from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
“So far, everything is moving smoothly,” Ishida said after checking with the recyclers Friday afternoon. “But we still have another day to go, so it’s hard to say how much we’ve collected in terms of last year. There’re close to three containers, now.”
Items qualifying for the electronic waste recycling include televisions, copiers, hubs, fax machines, scanners, combination units, telephones, stereo components, radios, CRT screens, backup batteries, plasma screens, typewriters, VCR players, DVD players, electronic gaming units, cameras, adding machines, camcorders and overhead projectors.
Electronics in wood cabinets, toner cartridges, appliances, microwaves, and batteries not integral to computer systems will not be accepted, states a collection flier.
More than 4 billion pounds of electronic waste, or e-waste, was discarded in the United States, accounting for between two and four percent of the municipal solid waste stream, states information from the Environmental Protection Agency in the flier.
As much as 87.5 percent was incinerated or dumped in the landfills. Only about 12.5 percent was recycled, the flier states.
It is important that computers and televisions be kept out of landfills because they often contain hazardous materials. A color monitor or TV can contain up to five pounds of lead, and other heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lithium are also present in computers.
Most of the e-waste is processed at E-World Recyclers in Vista, Calif. E-World provides “Certificates of Assured Destruction” following the recycling process where the waste will be separated into various raw materials such as glass, plastic, steel, copper and aluminum.
These become “feedstock” in the manufacturing of new products.
Data stored on hard drives will be cleaned or destroyed in a matter generally accepted in the electronics industry. No data from the source of the electronics equipment will be able to be restored or accessed, the flier states.
This event is sponsored by the County of Kaua‘i. For more information, visit the county’s Web site for updated information on E-Waste options, or call the county’s Recycling Office at 241-4841.
