PEEC is recycling old electronics

DINGMANS FERRY - Does that new computer already feel old as soon you take it out of the box? You are not alone; over 500 million computers will become obsolete between 1992 and 2007 resulting in six billion pounds of plastic and one and a half billion tons of lead. Computer waste is more hazardous than typical household waste due to the high concentration of heavy and precious metals such as gold, lead, cadmium and mercury. The staff at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) encourages the community to join them in disposing of their electronic waste in a responsible way by bringing old electronic equipment to the Burnley Workshop, located at 4219 Manor Drive in Stroudsburg. In May, PEEC recycled old electronic equipment to ensure that they do not end up as hazardous waste in a landfill. Burnley Workshop CEO Rich Peterson helped the PEEC staff load up a number of old computers, tv’s, keyboards, mice and other equipment. Burnley has collection days every month and those interested in recycling can call 570-992-6616 to find out when the monthly drop-off days will be. Electronic waste makes up 40% of lead and 70% of all heavy metals in landfills. This poisoning of our landfills could easily be lessened since the current recycling rate of computer components in the United States is only 10-15%. In addition old CRT (Cathode-Ray-Tube) monitors contain enough lead to receive a special designation by the US EPA as a significant source of lead. As a result several states and local solid waste facilities have banned CRTs from their landfills. The Burnley Workshop has recognized the need for responsible disposal of electronic waste. Once a month, Burnley Workshop accepts TV's, computer monitors, CPU's, printers, keyboards, mice, speakers, radios and other electronic equipment. Due to the high lead content of CRT TV's and monitors Burnley charges $10 for TV's and $5 for monitors to cover the cost of disposing of them properly. Burnley Workshop has partnered with Com-Cycle, an affiliate company of AERC Recycling Solutions, to recycle or dispose of the electronic waste it collects in a responsible way. Com-Cycle pledges to disassemble and recover computer and electronic components for resale and recycling of metal, glass, and plastics. All computer files, software, or other information contained on electronic scrap received by AERC will be removed and erased, protecting its customer's data and identification. Furthermore, Com-Cycle pledges to never dump any of its electronic waste in third world countries, an all too common solution for many hazardous materials.