Recycler’s offer draws stampede of people eager to shed their electronic waste

It cost Mid-Mo Recycling $6,000 to find out whether individuals and companies are willing to recycle their old computers, monitors, televisions and other techno-trash.
The company learned they were, to the tune of 39 tons that included 1,000 monitors.
As an experiment throughout June and July, Mid-Mo Recycling waived its charge for taking computer monitors and televisions for recycling. The result was a stampede by people and businesses discarding old computers and televisions.

“It was phenomenal,” said Mid-Mo manager Cathy Rupard. “On Friday, (July 29), you couldn’t throw a stick here without hitting someone.”

For years, the company has been quietly taking in computer monitors, charging individuals $8 and businesses $6 per monitor, to make sure the items don’t enter the landfill. Computers could be dropped off for free, but Mid-Mo charged a fee to take monitors because they are considered hazardous waste, which means the company must pay to dispose of them.

Since 2001, the company’s main customers have been businesses, which are prohibited by federal regulations from disposing of old computer monitors with their regular trash, said Mike Menneke, an environmental specialist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Hazardous Waste Program.

Computer monitors include hazardous material such as an average of four pounds of lead, according to the DNR Web site.
But in Columbia – and much of Missouri – individuals can just set their computers and monitors out by the curb. Households are exempt from the hazardous waste prohibitions that affect businesses, explained Menneke.

But that might not be the best thing for the environment. According to the DNR Web site, electronic waste, such as computers, computer monitors and the like, accounts for 70 percent of all heavy metals found in U.S. landfills.

The situation is not likely to improve. The DNR Web site notes the average lifespan of a personal computer is two years.
DNR is investigating options for such e-waste and has created the E-scrap Stakeholder Workgroup to look into developing a framework “for disposing, reusing and recycling e-scrap in Missouri in a sustainable fashion…” The group’s meetings are open to the public. The next meeting is slated for Aug. 16 in Jefferson City.

The city of Columbia regulates what can and cannot be discarded for disposal in its landfill. For example, yard waste cannot be included in a household’s regular trash. Instead, grass cuttings, leaves and branches must be disposed of through the city’s yard waste bag system.

The city bans some hazardous waste from regular garbage disposal, including car batteries, tires and appliances. In addition, the city provides an alternative to putting some hazardous items into the regular trash with its Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, which is open the first and third Saturdays of the month from April through November. It doesn’t, however, offer collection or recycling facilities for old computers or monitors.

But Rupard and Mid-Mo owner Stan Fredrick think it should – and set out to prove there was a demand for it.

“People are willing to recycle,” said Rupard. “Let’s keep it out of the landfill.”

Thirty-nine tons of trash
During the two months of free collection, Mid-Mo employee Robb McCleary worked the dock, taking in 39 tons of old computers, microwaves, bread machines, cell phones, printers, fax machines, televisions and other electronic items, commonly referred to “tech trash” or e-waste.

McCleary said one man brought in 70 computer monitors and 50 computers, items left behind when his son moved away from home.

The fate of an old computer isn’t pretty. Think of C-3PO in Star Wars when he was being dismantled. The computer will be taken apart and the parts separated into bins for the steel casings, plastic housing, aluminum drives and board and the wires and screws.

As far as the loss of $6,000 from waiving the fee to take in 1,000 computer monitors, Rupard said in this case it’s principles above profits.

Whether the city of Columbia will consider collecting old computers for recycling is a decision for the City Council, said Cynthia Mitchell, Columbia’s Landfill and Recovery superintendent. In fact, recycling is something Mitchell supports. Before taking on the job as head of the landfill operation, she was the city’s waste minimization coordinator and later headed up the city’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF). As the landfill and recovery superintendent, Mitchell actually still supervises that facility.
“It’s an all-encompassing frame of mine,” said Mitchell, for putting things in their proper places: Recyclables to the MRF and garbage to the landfill.

Although she likes to keep any waste possible out of the landfill, Mitchell said, e-waste is a tiny percentage of the 700 tons to 800 tons of trash the city takes in daily. She estimates the city household pick-up contains less than 1 percent of e-trash. But that’s just an estimate.

A project will be under way this fall to see just what kind of waste is entering the state’s landfills.

Mitchell also pointed out that Columbia’s landfill is built to ensure any harmful components, such as those in a computer monitor, are kept contained.

Yet, as Mitchell noted, “Anything you can do to keep things out of the landfill is a good idea.”