Scrap recycling accelerates in US

ST. MARYS (Scrap Monster): In a drive following ban on computers and televisions from West Virginia landfills, The Pleasants County Solid Waste Authority in collaboration with Momentive Performance Materials collected more than 25 tons of recyclable electronics last month.

This was largest collection figure in Pleasants and Tyler counties and was sponsored by the National Center for Electronics Recycling of Parkersburg and eCycle Secure of Charlotte, N.C.

As per NewsandSentinel.com, the event was funded by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Covered Electronic Devices Grant Program and the collection saved 75 cubic yards of landfill space.

The electronic waste was transferred to the Charlotte facility of eCycle Secure. There electronics were shredded into the recyclable raw materials of steel, copper, aluminum, glass, plastic, circuit boards and power supplies.

In a similar event, Unitarian Universalist Church West (UUCW) has teamed up with Action Recyclers of Milwaukee for a one-day-only Scrap Metal Recycling Drive in Brookfield on June 25. The drive will help to keep metals out of landfills and raise awareness about the value of recycling among the community members.

An extensive list of acceptable items for the drive includes items made of metals such as aluminum, copper, cast iron, sheet iron, unprepared iron, stainless steel and brass as well as computers & laptops, monitors, car batteries and more.

An estimated 50 million tons of e-waste is produced each year and USA discards about 3 million tonnes each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these go to landfills and incinerators. Recycling drives have been initiated all over US with an effort to prevent this.