With Earth Day Saturday as a backdrop, a state official says if you're going to the landfill, make sure you put electronic waste in its proper place. Electronic recycling is referred to as e-cycling.
DNR "E"-Cycle Wisconsin coordinator is Sarah Murray. She says all those electronic gadgets you have should be recycled properly...
"....many electronics like TV's computers, cell phones are not allowed to be put in the trash in Wisconsin and we want to make sure they are recycled properly mostly because they have hazardous materials and also materials we can recover and make new products...."
A 2016 DNR survey estimated that Wisconsin households had 4.2 million unused cell phones, 2.1 million unused computers and 1.7 million unused TVs. The most common reason people cited for not recycling their old electronics was not knowing where or how to do so.
Since E-Cycle Wisconsin began in 2010, registered collectors have received nearly 250 million pounds of electronics for recycling. Murray says look for the e-cyclers in your area...
".....we keep list of collection sites on the DNR website that are registered with e-Cycle Wisconsin by county...."
Many TVs and monitors contain lead or mercury. Murray says effective recyclers can recover nearly 100 percent of the material.
A link to the e-cycle website is here.
