When MP3 players, cell phones and computers are replaced by newer versions of themselves, recycling advocates say too many electronics end up in the landfill.
The Eugene non-profit group NextStep Recycling is trying to change that. The organization is hosting an electronic recycling event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Churchill High School in Eugene. The Rachel Carson Center for Natural Resources, a school within Churchill that focuses on the natural environment, is helping host the event in the school’s parking lot at 1850 Bailey Hill Road.
The electronic recycling process is complicated, recycling experts say, because electronics are made from many different pieces, including hazardous materials. The parts must be separated and sent to different recycling vendors.
NextStep has recently been put in the public spotlight after its founder was featured in a prominent magazine and won a national award. The organization says the publicity has helped educate the public about one of its messages – to recycle computers and other electronics.
NextStep will collect electronics, including DVD players, stereos, computers and TVs this weekend. The group holds community events throughout the year.
“We like to go around in the Eugene-Springfield area to educate people about us. It’s a great way to save people from having to drive across town to us,” said Enid Lefton, a NextStep manager.
The organization charges a fee for a few items because those items contain hazardous materials. NextStep charges at least $10 to recycle a microwave, for example.
“People don’t understand that recycling costs money to do because there’s a lot of handling involved,” Lefton said. She added that each computer or television monitor has about five pounds of lead in the glass.
After a computer is recycled, it’s resold or recycled again, Lefton said. Local volunteer technicians refurbish some computers to be sold again. Computers that are broken or are too old are dismantled, and the parts are separated. Those parts are then sold to vendors.
The press reported that recyclers were shipping electronics to other countries where regulations are few. Some electronics polluted air and water.
NextStep, however, tries to recycle parts locally.
“We try to use local vendors and keep things in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest when at all possible,” Lefton said.
NextStep is helping keep e-waste out of landfills.
In 2005, Americans had about 1.9 to 2.2 million tons of e-waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency; of that, about 1.5 to 1.9 million tons ended up in a landfill.
The problem is worldwide, said Kathy Kiwala, the e-waste project leader for the state Department of Environmental Quality.
“The volume of new products coming out keeps growing exponentially, and the life span of products is shrinking,” Kiwala said.
Oregon lawmakers realized the problem and passed legislation to help remedy the issue.
The Electronics Recycling Law, passed in 2007, will create recycling centers for desktop computers, portable computers, monitors and televisions in Oregon cities with a population of at least 10,000 starting in 2009, Kiwala said. Electronic manufacturers will finance the new program.
NextStep has received national recognition for its recycling efforts.
People magazine featured Lorraine Kerwood, the founder of NextStep, in its “Heroes Among Us” section, and Kerwood recently won a Volvo for life environmental award. Kerwood received a $100,000 contribution as part of the award, which she gave to NextStep.
Kerwood started what would later become NextStep in a garage, where she fixed Apple computers and gave them to people who needed a computer. People eventually donated different electronics.
“We had parts and pieces that couldn’t be reused,” Lefton said. “We just had to figure out what to do with them.”
NextStep is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 2101 W. 10th Ave. For more information, those interested can visit www.nextsteprecycling.org.
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