Area residents with electronics collecting dust in storage will be able to safely dispose of those items during a recycling event being held next week.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 4, people residing in Platte County can drop off their old TVs and other devices in the parking lot of Pizza Ranch, 2266 33rd Ave. in Columbus.
Sponsored by the Nebraska Recycling Council, the purpose is to help properly dispose of cathode-ray tubes, Keep Columbus Beautiful Executive Director Vanessa Oceguera said. Two TVs or computer monitors can be dropped off for free, but there is a fee for each additional item, she noted.
“I've done several of these events in the past, and the only item that most recycling companies charge for are those cathode-ray tubes, so the CRT monitors and televisions. It's kind of like those old, old school TVs with the giant tube in the back,” Oceguera said.
“The first two CRT monitors or TVs that people bring in are free. And then after, like if somebody has more than two televisions in their pickup or something after that, it's $25 apiece.”
Electronics other than TVs or monitors containing cathode-ray tubes can be dropped off for no charge. These other electronics include computer towers, laptops, tablets, cell phones, computer accessories such as keyboards, speakers, cameras, network equipment like routers, gaming consoles, cable boxes, power supplies, desktop printers and others. Small household appliances will be accepted as well, excluding microwaves.
Items that will not be allowed are large appliances such as a freezer, light bulbs, medical equipment, alkaline batteries, devices containing mercury, well pumps, Freon-bearing devices, anything containing asbestos or machinery containing oil or gas.
Oceguera stressed that though KCB activities are typically held on a Saturday, this old electronics event will be held on a Friday.
The Nebraska Recycling Council is hosting similar events across the state, Oceguera said, as part of its Collection for Hard to Recycle Materials program.
Not every event is focused on cathode-ray tubes though, she noted. Previously, the recycling council has focused on topics such as compact fluorescent lamp bulbs, which are also known as CFLs.
KCB is partnering with the Nebraska Recycling Council because the local nonprofit didn’t receive an electronics recycling grant this year, Oceguera said.
“This one's kind of unique and something we could really utilize around here because everybody calls asking ‘What do I do with this old TV?’” she added.
As for run-of-the-mill recycling, KCB’s two recycling trailers have been in Columbus for a few months now. The trailers – located north of Center 7 Theatre and in the parking space near St. Bonaventure Elementary School -- serve as drop-off sites for common recyclables such as steel cans, plastic bottles and milk jugs.
“Our landfills are really filling up fast and we need to recycle more and get the product where it can be recycled and put back out to the public,” KCB Recycling Coordinator Udell Podliska told The Telegram in March.
Response about the trailers and free recycling program has been positive so far, Oceguera said.
“We've still been taking them about every other day, so they're staying pretty full,” Oceguera added. “We still get a lot of feedback from residents that they're utilizing the service. So that's been going really well.”
