FORT RUCKER, Ala. (November 1, 2012) -- Recycling may take a little more effort than taking out the trash, especially when it comes to outdated electronics, but the Fort Rucker E-cycling Drive is designed to make it easier for people to recycle their old, unwanted electronics.
This year's drive will be Nov. 15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the new Recycling Center on 3rd Avenue and Minute Man Street, but there will also be a drop-off point at the post exchange, said Colleen Quinlan, hazardous waste program manager for the Directorate of Public Works.
"The new recycling center is huge and that is where the main drop off point will be," said Quinlan. "People can drive through the building with whatever vehicle they have and we can unload it right into the truck from there.
"It can be a hassle to recycle electronics, and lot of times people don't want to go through the trouble, but this event will just make it easier for them," she said. "It's also open to the public, so people that live in [the surrounding communities] are welcome to come drop off their old electronics as well."
Last year's event collected almost 12,000 pounds of electronic equipment and material, but Quinlan said she hopes to surpass that number during this year's event.
"Since last year's e-cycling event was such a great success, we realized that there is a pretty big need for it," she said. "I don't think a lot of people know what to do with their [old unused electronic equipment], so I think this event can help out a lot to keep a good bit of this stuff out of landfills."
Some of the things that people can bring are computers and monitors, printers, cables, stereo equipment, video equipment, TVs, cameras, calculators, circuit boards, fax machines and copiers. People can also bring old cell phones, but those will be donated to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program.
Old batteries, from watch batteries to car batteries, will also be accepted during this year's drive, said Quinlan, adding that people can drop batteries off at the recycling center year round.
Quinlan said that refrigerators and microwaves are the only two items that will not be accepted, but if people have any questions about items that they want to bring, they can call 255-0468.
The drive is also a way to help people do the responsible thing, she said.
"Recycling in general is so important," said Quinlan. "Eventually we're going to run out of room to put all of our waste, and it's going to be a problem in the future."
Space isn't the only issue when it comes to managing waste, especially when it comes to electronic waste, she said.
"With electronics, when they go into landfills, you have to deal with things like metals leaching out into the ground from things like cadmium, lead or mercury," said the program manager. "It can also leak into the ground water, and if it's incinerated, it can even get into the air that we breathe. Recycling this material just helps everyone."
The actual recycling process that all the material collected will go through is a two-step process, said Quinlan.
"If the electronics that people bring in can be refurbished, then they will try to do that," she said. "If they can't refurbish something, they will completely take it apart and try to salvage any parts from it that they can: wires, plastics or other metals. There is generally very little waste -- maybe 1 percent waste from everything that is recycled, but everything that can be recycled, will be."
For more information, call 255-0468.
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