Homer, Alaska - News - Recycle enthusiasm ablaze despite recent wintry weather 04/30/08

Story last updated at 8:47 PM on Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Recycle enthusiasm ablaze despite recent wintry weather

By McKibben Jackinsky
Staff writer

Snow may have been falling Saturday morning, but that didn't cool the eagerness with which a line of vehicles formed at Spenard Builders Supply. Inside and piled in the back of pickups were loads of old electronic equipment mostly computers destined for recycling.

"The first year we did it, 61 households and a combination of 11 businesses and nonprofits participated for total poundage of 12,039 pounds," Nina Faust, event coordinator, said.

In 2007, 69 households and a combination of 11 businesses and nonprofits participated, for a slightly less total poundage of 10,139 pounds.

This year, Faust reported 85 households and 15 businesses and nonprofits lined up at Spenard Builders Supply with loads of unwanted electronic equipment.

"I just keep thinking about this year, how much this adds up to, the volume that did not go into the landfill," Faust said.

Total pounds brought to the drop-off point Saturday will not be available until Total Reclaim, a Pacific Northwest recycling business with offices in Anchorage, does a final tabulation. However, the effort got a boost from l,600-1,800 pounds of unwanted equipment delivered from Kachemak Bay Campus, Kenai Peninsula College-University of Alaska Anchorage.

"Then, (Homer Electric Association) came with a load of stuff, about a pickup truck and a half, and (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) came over with about 1,000 pounds," Faust said.

Cost for recycling was $15 a carload, which included one monitor. Additional monitors were $10 each. Televisions with screens smaller than 18 inches cost $15; screens larger than 18 inches cost $25. The fees help defray costs associated with recycling.

"The nice thing is that most people didn't complain about paying a small fee. They understand there's transportation costs and the cost of processing the materials," Faust said. "All this stuff doesn't just go to Anchorage. It gets barged to Seattle, so it has a long journey."

The biggest reason behind electronic recycling is keeping toxins out of landfills, Faust said.

"These things are not benign. They have all kinds of persistent organic pollutants in them and heavy metals that leach out over the long-term. We need to do the responsible thing," she said.

Looking to the future, Faust considered long-term solutions such as legislation to make manufacturers responsible for the end life of a product. She pointed to Hewlett Packard as an example. The company has a take-back service through which it will accept HP or non-HP personal or office computer equipment or peripherals. In 2006, HP reported recycling more than 187 million pounds of electronics globally.

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