Electronics have made our lives more convenient and enjoyable. But after they have outlived their usefulness, or new ones have been bought, they can also cause harm to the environment if not properly thrown away.
Instead of putting old electronics in a drawer or box in the garage, or, worse yet, throwing them away so they end up in the landfill, make a New Year’s Resolution to recycle them at the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.
Residents can bring any of these old or outdated electronics to one of seven Solid Waste Authority Home Chemical & Recycling Centers to be recycled: audio/visual equipment, such as VCRs, stereos and more; computer CPUs; computer monitors; computer peripherals, such as printers, scanners and more; televisions; and telecommunications equipment, such as phones and fax machines.
Collected items are sorted by SWA staff and hauled away by a private contractor. Any useful components are recovered and reused when possible. Everything else is shredded and sorted into base materials, such as plastics, metals and glass to be recycled into new products.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, for every 1 million recycled cell phones, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.
Help keep metals and other harmful materials out of the landfill. For more info., visit www.swa.org/electronics or call (561) 697-2700.
