Saturday's Electronic Waste Recycling Event at City Hall Raises Money for Teen Center

Have old computers, fax machines and printers cluttering your basement or your closets?

The Saline Environmental Commission and Fifth Corner Teen Center are co-sponsoring a free electronic waste recycling event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Saline City Hall.

Volunteers will accept goods like computers, disc players, DVD players, cell phones, televisions, cameras and more. They won’t accept air conditioners, dehumidifiers, freezers, home appliances and liquids. (See the image above for the full list.)

This is the fifth electronic waste recycling event being held by the Saline Environmental Commission. Volunteer David Rhoads said the group expects to collect about 20 tons of goods. The goods will be taken by Vintage Tech Recycling, whicht will disassemble the goods and take parts that can be re-used while shredding the parts that can’t be used.

Rhoads said the recycled goods should raise about $900 for the Fifth Corner Teen Center. Additionally, people who drop off the goods often make donations. In the past, the recycling event has raised close to $1,000 in donations.

“It’s an important fundraisers and it helps pay for about a month and a half of the bills at Fifth Corner, so it’s much appreciated,” Rhoads said. “From an environmental stand point, we’re helping to properly dispose of old equipment that might otherwise end up in the landfill.”

Rhoads said many electronic household goods contain toxins that can be harmful to the environment.

If you have goods you need to recycle, don't put it off waiting for another e-waste recycling event. Rhoads said the next one won't take place until 2014.

"We're starting to see the amount of items brought decline. I think people have cleaned out their closets and basements," Rhoads said. "So we'll probably have one again next spring."

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