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Disposing of
E-Waste and Other Items
From Howard Person
Pennington County Solid Waste Officer
The dust is
finally starting to settle around the issue of E-waste after the Minnesota
Legislature banned cathode ray tubes from the waste stream. Pennington
County has now signed a collection and recycling agreement with CRT Inc.,
allowing a more reasonable recycling cost for TV and computer monitors.
Effective immediately, any size television or computer monitor will cost
a flat fee of seven dollars ($7.00). There’s no need to remove the cabinet
or any other parts from the tube, just bring it in to the solid waste
transfer station on highway 32 south.
Many other
electrical appliances also require recycling but aren’t categorized as
e-waste. Appliances like refrigerators, air conditioning units,
dehumidifiers, and freezers have Freon in their compressors which must be
removed before it can be recycled. Even microwaves must have the
microwave emitter removed before they can be properly disposed of. The
charges for appliances delivered to the solid waste transfer station are
$10 to process appliances containing Freon and $5 to process microwaves.
Tires are not allowed in the waste stream and there is a charge for
disposal based on the size of the tire. Florescent bulbs and ballasts
from florescent lighting must also be properly disposed of. There is a
small charge for these items as well.
All other
hazardous materials are handled for free to the general public. Household
hazardous waste such as paint or paint products, solvents, cleaners,
pesticides, petroleum based products, car batteries or other items which
have a warning label on them, are accepted at the solid waste transfer
station located on Hwy. 32 south of the Arctic test track from 9:00 am to
4:00 pm. Monday through Friday, except for major holidays.
If you are
uncertain if an item is hazardous or not, please give me a call at
683-7030 and I’ll be happy to talk with you about it.
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