E-waste recycling event at Navarre-Bethlehem Park
The average person today owns at least three electronic devices, according to GlobalWebIndex. Unfortunately, many people simply toss obsolete devices in the trash can rather than recycling them. It’s a practice that allows toxic chemicals to be released into soil, water and the air, posing serious health threats for humans and animals.
To help people recycle their old electronics, the Navarre-Bethlehem Park will hold an e-waste recycling event on June 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The park began an e-waste program in March when T. Renee Veselenak, Bethlehem Township trustee, placed an e-waste recycle bin in the park for people to deposit old electronics for recycling.
“We’ve had such a great response, and the bin is filling up so quickly we decided we needed to have a large item pickup day,” Veselenak said.
The event is being hosted by the park in cooperation with Summit e-Waste Recycling Solutions, the company that collects the e-waste placed in the park’s recycle bin.
Ben Baker, the vice president of Summit e-Waste, said, “I cannot believe how much you guys are collecting.”
E-waste that will be accepted at the event includes desktop computers and laptops, printers, cell phones and other mobile devices, old telephones, modems, DVD players, VCRs, old stereos, game consoles, and televisions.
“Basically, if it has a cord or uses batteries and is too large for the bin, we will take it,” Veselenak said. “The drop-off is free, except for old TVs with tubes.”
The cost is $10 for tube televisions with screens measuring 12 inches or less and $20 for those with larger screens. All forms of payment will be accepted, but if paying with cash, the organizers ask that people have exact change ready to keep the line moving smoothly.
Hard drive shredding
Summit e-Waste will perform hard drive shredding onsite during the event. Similar to the idea of paper shredding, the process destroys all data stored on electronic devices before they are recycled. It is important for both individuals and businesses to have their digital data destroyed in order to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
“The company will shred the hard drive right there in front of people so they can see that everything they ever did on that computer is gone,” Veselenak said.
Recycling generates
funds for the park
Veselenak said the recycling program is already generating funds for the park because Summit e-Waste pays for all the recyclable items collected.
“Budgets are really tight right now, and I have to deal with the township budget as a trustee,” she said. “I want to be able to have extra things for the park without having to use taxpayer dollars to get them.”
Veselenak said she stops at the park every day on her way to and from work to monitor the contents. “My niece had a great idea to stick my phone into the bin on video for a few seconds. Doing that, I can see what’s in the bin and how much is there. I also drive by each day to make sure there aren’t any large items like microwaves setting outside the bin and junking up the park.”
A flyer with a list of electronic items that will be accepted during the event can be found on the Summit e-Waste Facebook page. Navarre-Bethlehem Park is located at 8201 Hudson St. SW in Navarre.
