June 7 – SOUTH EAST INDIANA – In line with our monthly Amnesty Days opportunities, the Southeast Indiana Recycling District (SEIRD) is now preparing to accept e-waste at no cost to the consumer on all our sites during certain days in June. These dates are as follows:

June 11-12: Jennings County and Scott County

June 16 and 19: county of Switzerland

June 18-19: Ohio County

June 25-26: Jefferson County

Up to two (2) electronic items with display will be accepted per residence during normal business hours for each establishment on the dates indicated. Please visit our website at www.seird.org for the addresses and hours of the facilities. You can also follow SEIRD on Facebook for event reminders.

Normally, there is a $ 15 charge for recycling an electronic device with a display at SEIRD’s facilities, which is implemented to help offset the cost that SEIRD incurs in pushing these devices along the recycling stream. Electronic devices without a display can be delivered to SEIRD’s facilities free of charge at any time during normal business hours.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans generated approximately 11.7 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2014. It is estimated that about a third of this waste was properly recycled. In total, electronics only make up about two percent of the solid waste stream, but account for 70 percent of the hazardous waste that goes to landfills.

“E-waste” is a term used to describe electronic devices which have reached their effective end of life and are intended for disposal by a consumer. According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), electronic devices of all types contain varying amounts of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium which can be harmful if released into the environment. the environment. Such release could include seepage into soil and water when items are not handled properly.

Electronic devices also contain various amounts of precious metals, such as copper, gold, tin, silicon, and aluminum, all of which can be recovered when recycled. Reusing these metals can amount to millions of dollars in raw material savings. Other recyclable components of electronic devices also include steel, glass and plastic.

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IDEM says on its website that the following items are prohibited from being thrown in Indiana households, public schools (including chartered), and small businesses: TVs, computers (including desktops, laptops , tablets and monitors), peripherals (including keyboards, mice, hard drives, printers, scanners, copiers and projectors), fax machines, DVD players (including game systems), digital photo frames, media players (such as iPods and MP3 players), camcorders / cameras, DVR / TiVo devices (including set-top boxes) and portable GPS navigation systems. The correct way to dispose of these items is to go through an appropriate recycling channel, including, but not limited to, the services offered by SEIRD.

In choosing to recycle electronics, the EPA says, “Increasing efforts to manage sustainable electronics can create green jobs, lead to more productive reuse of valuable materials, increase the value of U.S. exports, and support a vibrant US recycling and remanufacturing industry.

Companies in our home state of Indiana are involved in this industry. ERI, the nation’s largest fully integrated IT and electronic asset disposal provider, operates one of its eight nationwide facilities in Plainfield, Indiana. The company is certified to dismantle, recycle and refurbish all types of electronic devices in an environmentally friendly manner. The company serves all postal codes in the United States and has the capacity to process over one billion pounds of electronic waste per year.

Take advantage of SEIRD’s electronic amnesty days to make the right choice when it comes to e-waste, while contributing to the sustainability and economic success of our state and country of origin. – Information provided