Posted on 12/23/2015 5:33:22 AM PST by pa_dweller
Act 108 has created an imbalance of supply and demand which makes it economically prohibitive for electronics recycling vendors to operate in Pennsylvania. This situation has been happening across Pennsylvania and has resulted in many PA counties discontinuing their electronics recycling programs. The Authority had secured an electronics recycler for 2016, but on December 17, 2015 they informed the Authority they would not be able to service the program.
Residents and businesses should hold on to electronic devices until a new program can be implemented. The Authority is working on a sustainable solution to address the proper management of electronics waste. Specific electronics waste currently banned from PA waste disposal facilities include: televisions, desktop and laptop computers, computer monitors and computer peripherals (anything that connects to a computer such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.). This disposal ban, coupled with the insufficient funding mechanisms for recycling established in the law, have together undermined the economic viability of electronics waste recycling in Pennsylvania. The Authority is working with state officials to encourage changes to the Act to enable sustainable recycling of electronics in York County. Residents may also contact Best Buy to determine if their electronics can be accepted there.
I believe it. I took some stuff down there and had to wait in a line of about fifty cars for my turn. PCs, monitors, and old-style giant TVs by the skidload.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again!
(Excerpt) Read more at ycswa.com ...
Happening in parts of Allegheny county too.
Go to a nearby Staples, get a shopping cart, load it up and go inside the store. They’ll ask you to fill out a short form, itemizing the stuff if you want a receipt. Otherwise, you just sign the form and they’ll fill it out and dispose of the hardware.
I didn’t know that. Thanks!
I’ve heard the only electronics item that is profitable to recycle are computers. The rare earth elements used to make the magnets in the hard drives are in high demand. The rest of the electronics are full of mercury, cadmium, etc, that are expensive to recycle and with little demand.
It’s a lot easier/quicker than waiting in a long line at the SWA facility. Merry Christmas!
The last time I did it, there were way more than 50 cars in line, and then when I finally got to the drop off point, one of the idiot workers let a cart loose and it put a nice dent in the side of my car. Never again.
Same in Adams County. The local recycling center put up a big sign telling people that electronics were no longer accepted there and to blame the state legislature for it.
A well-intentioned law, but once again, nobody thought out the practical aspects of just WHERE this stuff would be taken or WHO would recycle it.
What I am seeing here is electronic junk being dumped over hillsides and left in parking lots or in the yards of vacant houses.
Quinn’s First Law: Liberalism always generates the EXACT OPPOSITE of it’s stated intent.
Wow. That’s good to know.
I believe the ICs all electronics are made of contain gold wires for internal connections. Some of the plug-in circuit boards contain gold for the contact fingers. There are Youtube videos describing how to extract the gold from those items. Which is in itself a possibly-health-destroying toxic waste event.
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