Landfill rejects

[imoldernu]

I remember a thread about this, a year or two ago, but can't find it.

Anyway... the problem is getting rid of items that the landfill no longer accept, where breaking the law is punishable with large fines. No answers from local government.

The few times our town tried an amnesty program, the lines of cars and trucks were so long they created a traffic jams.

There have to be hundreds of millions of TV's, computers and other electronics and appliances tucked away in sheds, garages and storage facilities.

How does your town handle this? Disposal fees, as with vehicle tires? Nearest listed electronics disposal facility is 100 mile away.

Any suggestions?

 

[jfn111]

Where I live, Hennepin Co, MN, we have hazardous waste sites. Electronics used to be free but now they charge some nominal amount to dispose of them. They also take tires, paint, hazardous liquids, etc..

 

[travelover]

We have semi annual hazardous waste drop off days, and yes, they have long lines, but it moves fast.

 

[Greencheese]

Ah yes, don't give citizens a way to dispose of items and then wonder why those items mysteriously wind up in fields and lakes

 

[MasterBlaster]

Where I live, Hennepin Co, MN, we have hazardous waste sites. Electronics used to be free but now they charge some nominal amount to dispose of them. They also take tires, paint, hazardous liquids, etc..

That's the way it is where I live. You have to sign a form that the waste items are from a household setting and not from a business. I suppose that the business waste has to be paid for somehow.

 

[splitwdw]

I use Best Buys recycling program for TV's, computer equipment. They take all kinds of things. Is there one near you?
Electronics and Appliances Recycling at Best Buy

 

[jfn111]

That's the way it is where I live. You have to sign a form that the waste items are from a household setting and not from a business. I suppose that the business waste has to be paid for somehow.

Yup, They swipe your drivers license when you drop off to see that you're a casual user and not a business.

 

[jazz4cash]

Ah yes, don't give citizens a way to dispose of items and then wonder why those items mysteriously wind up in fields and lakes

Exactly!
Our county handles it. I can't think of anything they won't take for free (maybe tires) and most things they will pickup curbside. We pay 350/yr for refuse,recycling and yard waste. Bulky household items are by appointment. I would raise he-- with my elected officials if they didn't provide a responsible way to dispose of junk.


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[meierlde]

Goodwill Industries has partnered with Dell also on Computers. Check your local Goodwill for more details. I know that due to the Dell partnership they will take CRT monitors.
It also appears that some salvation army stores take CRTs.

 

[pjm-7]

Speaking of rejects . . . this Saturday 4/30/16 local police departments are doing disposals of medications. Go to dea.gov and put in your zip code to find the nearest location.
I cleaned the bathroom cabinets a couple of months ago and have a large bag of expired medications (both prescription and OTC).

 

[samclem]

How does your town handle this? Disposal fees, as with vehicle tires? Nearest listed electronics disposal facility is 100 mile away.

Our county has a "hazardous household waste disposal day) every few months. You take your stuff to the drop-off point, they help you put it in the right bin, They take appliances, electronics, paint, chemicals, smoke detectors (many contain radioactive sources), etc. Ours doesn't take CFLs anymore, they recommend we take them back to Lowes or HD. Regular recycling (AL cans, glass, newspapers) can be dropped off any day during business hours.
They also take yard waste and grind it up, offering free mulch in another pile. The "givers" and "takers" pretty much even out.
Also, occasionally they have offered a free shredding service. Come by and the guy takes whole bags of your sensitive papers and grinds them up in front of you in a few seconds. Very handy.
What to do? I guess maybe you can ask you municipality/county to start doing something like this. Litter and hazardous materials disposed of incorrectly have a cost, seems a lot cheaper and better to at least offer folks who want to behave responsibly an easy way to do so. Our county isn't rich and our taxes are reasonable, so if it's being done fairly well where I live I'd think it would be feasible in many places

 

[JoeWras]

My county started with occasional days. It worked well, so they expanded it.

They had to add a few dollars per month to everyone's water bill, and a dollar per tire at every tire shop to pay for it, however.

We now have full time (6 days a week) drop off of all hazardous waste, tires, appliances, TVs, etc. About the only thing they won't take is radioactive waste, bombs, bullets and medical waste.

The charge is a pain, but it is worth it. It is the right thing to do, and I hope more governments take this up. You almost never see roadside dumps anymore. No questions asked at drop off. Just drop it off. So imoldernu, you can drive the 700 miles or so and we'll take it for you.

Drop Off Options for Residents

 

[rodi]

In our area there are periodic electronic recycling events. They are fund raisers for the sights that host them (the neighborhood high school had one 2 weeks ago). They take anything computer related, small appliances, stereos, tv's (even the giant tube ones). All for free.

What they don't take - batteries. You have to pay to dispose of batteries... and the only place I know that takes them is the municipal dump...

We have a coffee can full of 2 years worth of batteries.... just haven't made it over to the dump to pay to get rid of them.

 

[jazz4cash]

What kind of batteries? I had a few years worth of alkaline batteries but then I googled battery disposal and found out they can go in the regular trash


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[Ronstar]

Sore subject with me. Our county had an electronics recycling event earlier this month- supposedly from 9am to 1pm. I showed up at 10 with 2 dehumidifiers and a big subwoofer. The place was closed. Apparently so many people dropped stuff off that the event had to be closed in 45 minutes.

So my junk is still riding around in the back of my truck. Maybe my garbage man will take the stuff. Otherwise, I wait 4 months for another recycling event.


imoldernu - this may be of some help to you http://www.nlerinc.com/recycling-events/

 

[cathy63]

We are lucky. Our town's public services building accepts hazardous waste every Saturday, including electronics, batteries, fluorescent bulbs.

 

[2017ish]

I use Best Buys recycling program for TV's, computer equipment. They take all kinds of things. Is there one near you?
Electronics and Appliances Recycling at Best Buy

Yeah, other than the county "dump," which is inconvenient to us and not open on weekends or evenings, this is our only option for most people. (Luckily, our firm's IT contractor does it for us/me.... And I'll likely continue to take advantage of that after retirement.)

 

[EastWest Gal]

Our township has a hazardous waste day once per year. We use Best Buy's recycling program for electronics. We can leave out scrap metal once a week and a guy with a pickup picks it up. Certain kinds of yard waste can be dropped off and is turned into to compost by the township. Then they give it way for free. I don't avail myself of the compost though. I worry about seeds from my neighbor's weeds getting in it, then into my yard.


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[Sunset]

True compost would generate enough heat to kill the seeds.
Near us a horse farm gives away the old barn sweepings (straw and manure, etc) but it's not composted, so it's full of weeds. Still tempting..

 

[ERD50]

I can't find anyone to take old smoke alarms (they have some small amount of radioactive element). You are supposed to mail them back to the mfg. Right. As others have said, no surprise this stuff ends up in the trash. You gotta make it easy for people.

It varies so much by municipality. We have some of those Saturday 'drives' to recycle specific items (chemicals, electronics, medicines), and you wait in line, but it isn't publicized so well that there are places open several days of the week that will take them. You have to search this out. Why make it so hard?

-ERD50

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We take our electronics to Staples for recycling.

 

[braumeister]

The larger city near me has periodic free turn-in days, but you have to prove you're a resident of that county (I'm not) so it doesn't help me.

But I have found that Staples will take a huge variety of electronics, no questions asked and no charge. Look on their website for the guidelines (only a few items per day, etc.).

 

[jetpack]

We have a great no questions asked hazardous waste drop off site near me. Most stuff is free. Limits are like 20 TVs a day. Fast too, they unload your car / truck.

 

[Senator]

We have free disposal for electronics in our County. I also am not opposed to dropping off light bulbs at Home Depot. Often, if a store sells the product, there may be a law they have to take the old disposables. Best Buy takes a bunch of stuff for free too.

Most electronics can be thrown in the trash here, and that's exactly where I put them. The circuit board is a very small piece of most larger electronic items.

I have been known to dismantle things like mattresses and couches and throw them away. Sometimes metal of products can be scrapped and the rest thrown away. Periodically, I have a renter leave a bunch of stuff, and I have to get rid of it.

 

[mpeirce]

True compost would generate enough heat to kill the seeds.

Right.

Composed leaves are really good at improving soils. Parts of our backyard had very little topsoil (lots of clay!) and a few years of simply using leaf compost as a mulch has turned the backyard into a gardeners paradise.

I think it looks better than the wood based mulch people tend to use around here, so I use it instead and get the benefit of soil improvement. We buy a truckload of it each spring.