Volunteers prepare to recycle electronics and paper documents at the 2019 Electronic Recycling and Paper Shredding Drop-Off Day. The event saved almost 10 tons of e-waste and paper from going into landfills.
Annual drop-off event Saturday enables safe disposal
COVINGTON, Ky. - Don’t throw away your electronics - they’ll just spend years in landfills leaking toxic chemicals. And throwing confidential documents in your curbside recycling could leave personal information at risk.
Instead, bring “e-waste” and old documents to the annual free Recycling Drop-Off Day (for Electronic Waste and Paper Shredding) on Saturday at Holmes High School.
“Many electronics contain harmful chemicals like lead, cadmium, and mercury that -- if buried in a landfill - will pollute the earth and our water supplies,” explained Shannon Ratterman, who works closely with Keep Covington Beautiful (KCB) at The Center for Great Neighborhoods. KCB is hosting the event in partnership with The Center and the City of Covington.
Now in its fifth year, the recycling event kept 19,291 pounds of e-waste and paper out of landfills last year alone.
Two things are different this year:
- One, Blair Technology Group - a Latonia company that refurbishes computers and actually is the nation’s No. 1 authorized refurbisher of Microsoft products - will be combing through the equipment to see if anything could be repurposed for the ongoing Covington Connect digital equity initiative, said Kurt Reynolds, its CEO. (For info about Covington Connect, see HERE.)
- And two, because of the pandemic, there will be safety protocols: Have materials in the trunk of your car when you pull up and stay in your car while volunteers wearing masks and gloves remove it.
Ratterman said electronic devices will be recycled by Cleanlites, which disassembles and disposes of electronic waste. Shred It, a company that is certified by the National Association of Information Destruction, will be on-site to shred confidential documents and recycle them into new paper.
What can I bring?
- Computers and monitors (desktops, laptops etc.)
- Handheld devices (cell phones, tablets MP3 players, e-readers, etc.)
- Network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
- Peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, cords, chargers).
- Components (hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, power supplies, etc.)
- Printers under 50 pounds, scanners, fax machines etc.
- TVs, VCRs, DVRs, DVD & Blu-ray players.
- Digital converter boxes, cable/satellite receivers.
- Portable music players (Walkmen, Boomboxes, etc.)
- Audio-visual equipment (cameras, microphones, etc.)
- Video-game consoles and accessories.
- Telecommunications (phones, answering machines, etc.)
- Lightbulbs (all kinds).
- Chargers & cables.
- Batteries (household, rechargeable, alkaline, and vehicle).
Do not bring:
- Large appliances.
- Microwaves/refrigerators.
- AC units.
- Anything with motor oil.
Covington officials say the event demonstrates the City’s commitment to recycling and ongoing efforts to educate and engage residents and businesses.
“The e-waste event seems to grow in popularity every year. We’ve found that most residents want to dispose of problematic waste properly, and this event helps them do that,” said Stephanie Bacher, Covington’s Solid Waste & Recycling Supervisor. “It’s an integral part of Solid Waste & Recycling’s ongoing effort to both reduce the volume of Covington’s waste-stream and to cleanse it of hazardous material.”
Recycling in Covington is on the rise. Covington residents recycled almost 2,400 tons of waste in the year ending June 30, which is helping to reduce the garbage sent to landfills.
About the event:
- Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Holmes High School, (in the side parking lot off Eastern Avenue).
- More info, HERE.
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