We had a great turnout for our summer e-waste drive as a part of the Jackson Community Recycling Day.
All-told, we collected 18,595 lbs. of electronics, including 11,800 lbs. of TVs; 2,500 lbs. of PC monitors; 2,500 lbs. of PCs; 1,700 lbs. of miscellaneous materials. That’s more than nine tons of e-waste that won’t go into the landfill, burned down for scrap, or sent overseas to make someone sick.
Look for details on our fall e-waste drive!
We got this note from Jim Rossman at Commonwealth Associates:
Northwest Refuse accepts books. They were very accommodating when I showed up with a pickup truck full. They helped me load the boxes of books onto a pallet set atop a fork lift truck.I also contacted Recycle Ann Arbor. They have two methods of recycling books. Books to be recycled into pulp product are to be taken to their South Industrial Rd. site (734-662-6288; Mon-Sat 9-5; Sunday 10-2). Books (no encyclopedias) suitable for re-use may be dropped off at their 2950 E. Ellsworth Rd. facility (Mon-Sat 9-5). I was told that there is a drop-off charge of $3 at the E. Ellsworth Rd. facility. I believe there is a charge levied at the S. Industrial Dr. station, as well.
Thanks for the tip, Jim!
Gazelle, says the New York Times, is a way to recycle your electronic waste (e-waste) and get some money back for your gadgets.
Gazelle resells most of the items customers send in and uses recycling as a last resort so that fewer products land in landfills.Here’s how it works: Go to the site and type the name of your product in the search bar. The site will ask a few questions about the condition of the item and whether you have the original accessories like cables and AC adapters. It then prices your gadget based on current market value and immediately returns a figure. If you want to sell the gadget, click the Add to Box button. The company will even send a postage-paid box for easy shipping. And if your gadget has no market value, Gazelle will still recycle it.
Reportedly, Gazelle makes a profit by selling your scrap electronics on eBay and other auction sites. Up to 80 percent of gadgets find a new home, Gazelle says, and the rest get recycled. They have a no-export recycling policy, meaning your e-waste won’t end up in some third world country, melted for scrap.
Let us know if you try it, and what you think!
Imagine that – Sun Chips now comes in compostable bags, says Waste Recycling News:
Snack foods maker SunChips is now packaging its multigrain chips in compostable bags, the company said.The new bags are made from plant-based polylactic acid. The bags will fully compost in approximately 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active compost bin. The new compostable bags, one of the latest sustainability initiatives from PepsiCo´s Frito-Lay division, will be at full distribution in North America by April 22.
The bags feel kinda funny, but hey – it’s a start!
Recycling Jackson continues to receive large quantities of alkaline batteries. They are expensive to recycle because of their weight and small size.
We believe we are the only location in town that actually recycles the batteries that you drop off. If you are using another location for this service, inquire as to what they do with the batteries that you drop off.
While some of you are donating, it is not keeping pace with the volume of materials we are taking in. While we are happy to provide this service we cannot do so out of the goodness of our heart. It is important that we cover our costs for this service. We do request $1 per pound to recycle your batteries. It is a internally subsidized price and not strictly enforced. Since our actual recycling cost is much higher than what we charge, in July 2010 we will no longer accept alkaline batteries without a donation.
Sometimes doing the right thing environmentally is a more expensive alternative. Since many of the handheld devices in our lives are battery powered, please consider switching to rechargeable or lithium batteries. We do not charge to recycle those types of batteries once they are expired as the cost is fully subsidized by the manufacturers.
