County to collect unwanted e-waste

Reduce, reuse and recycle! It is the way of doing business now days. Sanders County Solid Waste (SCSW) is once again organizing an e-waste event to share information on Montana’s recycling programs as well as helping residents recycle unwanted electronics.

In collaboration with Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and Oreo’s Refining, the county will host Dusti Johnson, MDEQ Materials Management Specialist, on Friday, June 8, to discuss “Recycling in Montana.” The discussion will take place at the County Courthouse from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

“She (Johnson) is extremely knowledgeable and does her own little waste audit everywhere she goes,” SCSW employees stated. They continued that she is an excellent resource for recycling information because “she has her thumb on the state and nation as far as recycling goes.”

The event will continue Saturday, June 9, when SCSW will be collecting unwanted electronics from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Thompson Falls transfer site. All electronics will be accepted free of charge by Shelly Mitchell of Oreo’s Refining. The only exception is cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions and computers, which are not recyclable and will be assessed a $5 fee to cover costs associated with the county having to transfer the material to Missoula.

Oreo’s Refining requests that all hard drives be removed from computers before turning in for liability reasons.

The county certifies that all electronically stored data will be destroyed, and computers come with an Oreo’s Refining certified data destruction guarantee.

According to SCSW, MDEQ recently held a round-table discussion to analyze Montana’s recycling programs and determine ways to make the programs stronger as well as becoming more appealing to recycling vendors.

Although the weather has been a little unpredictable, one thing is for sure. According to SCSW, the e-waste events will take place “rain or shine!” For more information contact the waste department at 827-6942.