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46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, February 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 2, 2004 Bob Sconza, left, and Mike Nolan of American Appliance Recyclers stack old computer monitors onto a pallet for shipment. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Recycling electronics Goodwill and American Appliance Recyclers will take computers, TVs and VCRs off your hands for a fee and ship them to a recycler By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Getting rid of outdated computers, monitors, TVs and VCRs just got easier in Jackson County, thanks to a recycling partnership that targets electronic waste. Southern Oregon Goodwill and American Appliance Recyclers launched a project Sunday that allows local residents to dispose of unwanted electronics through the Medford thrift store site. For a fee of $2 to $15 per component, Goodwill will collect obsolete computers and keyboards for the White City firm to pick up and recycle. "We’re such an obvious place for the public to think of for this kind of thing," said Russ Levin, Goodwill development director. "It was an obvious partnership." It was also an early effort to create a local venue for electronic waste disposal, even as Oregon officials ponder new rules governing the issue. Advertisement A state task force begins meeting next week to consider proposals to require household recycling of electronics. Officials agree that substances in electronic waste — lead, mercury, cadmium and a host of other toxins — are hazardous when dumped in public landfills. However, the state has to consider the implications of requiring recycling, said Rick Volpel, of the state Department of Environmental Quality. "One of the concerns we have is we don’t have the infrastructure to support this," Volpel said. Last year, American Appliance Recyclers processed nearly 600,000 pounds of electronic waste, according to Kandace Wattenberg, the firm’s senior vice president. That’s just a fraction of the material, known as "E-waste," in Oregon. About 28 million pounds of computers and television sets become obsolete in the state each year, according to one estimate based on a 1999 study by the National Safety Council. In Oregon, some landfills still accept electronic components. Jackson County landfills do not. For two years, American Appliance Recyclers has been renovating electronics, said Dave Hilde, chief executive officer. It now accounts for 80 percent of the firm’s business, especially since the passage of an E-waste law last fall in California. "We have people who’ve come from Eureka and Yreka, Calif., to recycle their computers," Wattenberg said. Hilde also sends trucks as far as San Diego, Calif., to retrieve unwanted electronics. Recycling the components is a complicated process, Hilde said. Computer monitors that can be salvaged are renovated for use as low-end televisions. Most of the electronics are sent to Canada and other places, where the glass, plastic and precious metals are separated and smelted. "It’s all to end-of-the-line companies," Hilde said. "It goes to where we ship it. Nothing goes into the landfill." Joining up with Goodwill will make it more convenient for customers to recycle household electronics, Levin said. Before this partnership, Goodwill didn’t accept old computers or TVs. Goodwill and American Appliance Recycling must charge cover handling and processing necessary to dispose of the electronic components, Hilde said. Cost is $15 for a monitor or television; $5 for a computer tower, a printer or a VCR; $2 for a keyboard and mouse. "We needed to keep the fees down to encourage the public to do this," Hilde said. The new fees do not affect regular Goodwill donations, Levin emphasized. "We want to make sure people understand we’re not selling these things in our stores," he said. "We’re just the conduit." Some legislation has been proposed that would require sellers of electronic goods to add a "recycling fee" to the purchase price. When customers recycle their electronics, they get the deposit back. "It’s kind of like a bottle bill for computers," Levin said. For now, however, Goodwill and the recycling business are happy simply to encourage convenience. Residents can drop off unwanted electronics at the Goodwill site at 604 N. Fir St., Medford, or at AAR, 2645 Avenue G, White City. AAR also provides curb-side pickup in Jackson County. Cost is $30 for the first item and $15 for each additional piece. Before the new program began, Goodwill had few old computer components on site, Levin said. Now, who knows? "We have no idea what kind of response to expect," he said. Call Goodwill at 772-6710 or AAR at 826-2211 or 800-475-0131 for hours and information. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. 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