Products containing CRTs account for about 90% of the electronics people recycle through the county, he said.

Mason said he is exploring other vendors, who will have to be vetted.

Depending on the vendor chosen, the county might have to raise rates for residents, Mason said. One company would charge the county 64 cents per pound, compared with the 20 cents per pound being charged by UNICOR, he said. The county also pays shipping costs.

He told the county commissioners he might return in a few weeks asking for a new, higher fee structure for recycling electronics.

Currently, the charge for recycling electronics is $52 per ton, with a $10 minimum fee, Mason said. Often, residents end up paying the minimum.

There might end up being a flat fee per TV or the tonnage rate could increase, he said.

The county has offered an electronics recycling program for at least 10 years, Mason said. The county offers the program voluntarily.

The concern with CRTs is that they contain hazardous materials, he said.

UNICOR had restrictions on what electronics with CRTs it would accept. He said the county already had buried some old wooden console TVs.

UNICOR stopped taking CRTs as of July 1. It still will pick up electronics such as stereos, flat screens and computers without CRTs.

Mason said the volume of electronics sitting at the Forty West Landfill for possible recycling is not quite a truckload.

UNICOR would pick up electronics when there is a truckload ready. Typically, one or two truckloads a month were picked up.

UNICOR, which is Federal Prison Industries Inc., could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Courtesy : www.heraldmailmedia.com