Recycling electronic waste has fewer costs in the long run.

Byline: RECYCLING By Pete Chism For The Register-Guard

Starting on July 9th, Lane County Waste Management will offer electronics recycling collection at the Glenwood Central Receiving Station. Lane County Waste Management has researched various computer and television recycling programs along the West Coast. Guided by the Lane County Resource Recovery Advisory Committee and supported by the Lane County Board of Commissioners, this program will be the first of it's kind in the state, responsibly tackling the issue of electronic waste (e-waste).

Does this mean there's a landfill ban on e-waste? No. Everyone will have the option to toss these materials in the landfill, but it is recommended to recycle e-waste instead.

Will recycling e-waste cost anything? That depends on the item. There is a fee on the larger items, due to high costs of transportation and dismantling the units by hand. The cost of recycling this material is comparable to throwing it in the landfill.

For example, if you throw a computer system away, it will cost you $7 to $13, depending on the size. It will cost you $13 to recycle it. If you throw away a big screen TV, it will cost you $13, as opposed to $20 to recycle it.

Here are some of the fees for e-waste recycling:

Television sets: Screen less than 10 inches, $5; screen between 11 inches and 20 inches, $10; screen between 21 inches and 30 inches, $15; consoles and TVs larger than 30 inches, $20.

Computers: CPUs, $5; laptops, $5; monitors, $8.

Copy machines: $35.

The benefits of recycling of e-waste create a win-win-win situation for the citizens of Lane County. This program will create recycling and reuse jobs for Lane County and the state of Oregon, protect the environment and reduce the toxicity of the landfill.

In a sense, dumping e-waste in a landfill will cost our community in lost resources, lost job potential and a higher level of toxicity in our landfill, so the costs are much greater not to recycle e-waste.

What items have no charge? All phone related materials, fax machines, computer peripherals (mice, speakers, keyboards, scanners and printers), stereos, DVD players, VCRs and video game components have no charge.

If you're wondering why e-waste is such a problem, take these four factors into consideration when your electronics go bad: toxicity, technology growth, technology changes and hazardous waste exporting.

Toxicity: Televisions and computer monitors contain picture tubes called cathode ray tubes (CRTs). CRTs contain an average of 5 to 10 pounds of lead. Mercury, cadmium and a number of other persistent toxic compounds also exist in electronic devices. Harmless while intact, the lead in the screens may contaminate soil and groundwater supplies if the screens are crushed in a landfill.

Technology growth: The rapid development of technology in the last 15 years has produced a wide array of electronic devices. Electronic devices make up the fastest growing portion of the waste stream.

Technology changes: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established an accelerated schedule for the national introduction of digital television (DTV). The broadcast television industry is required to convert from analog to digital transmission by 2006. This conversion will cause a dramatic increase in the number of discarded televisions in the waste stream.

Hazardous Waste Exporting: When whole electronics are exported to a country with little or no environmental regulations, the frequency of dumping hazardous materials into the environment dramatically increases.

Lane County Waste Management developed a program that will address all of these issues and give the concerned citizens of Lane County an option to recycle their e-waste with a clean conscience. Stay tuned for more information.

Pete Chism is the waste reduction specialist at Lane County Waste Management.