Douglas County residents can offload some old electronics at a recycling event this Saturday, June 5.
Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability also needs volunteers to help direct traffic and “unload e-waste.”
The county is partnering with Manhattan-based Teknix Soutions for the event. It’s set up to be a drive-thru to minimize personal contact, and the county asks that folks stay in their vehicles at all times to allow staff and volunteers to unload electronics.
Masks will be encouraged but not required when conversing with staff and volunteers, but required when approaching them, regardless of vaccine status, according to a post on the county’s website.
Most electronics will be free to recycle; cathode-ray tube (CRT) TVs and monitors will be accepted for a fee of $20 per unit 19 inches or smaller, or $40 per unit 20 inches or greater, cash or check only.
The company can accept anything with a cord or battery, including but not limited to:
• Computers, laptops, monitors, speakers, keyboards, mice, servers
• Microwaves, TVs, gaming systems
• Light fixtures and non-PCB ballasts
• Stereos, radios, phones and audio/visual equipment
• Lab equipment, cables, battery backup systems
• Other small appliances
• CDs, VHS and cassette tapes
The company will not accept:
• Fire alarms, smoke detectors, thermometers
• Any light bulbs, PCB ballasts
• Alkaline batteries (however, Lawrence residents can make an appointment to take them to Household Hazardous Waste)
• Chemicals of any kind
• Tires, furniture
• Large appliances or any devices containing Freon
The company’s certified equipment handlers “take every precaution to guarantee data safety,” according to the county’s post. “Any equipment they receive is securely destroyed on site or wiped clean using NIST SP 800-88 standards.”
Volunteers are needed for two shifts, 7:45 to 11:45 a.m. or 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided for both shifts. Volunteers will be encouraged but not required to wear masks, according to the signup page.
Click here to learn more or to sign up. For questions, contact Kim Criner Ritchie, sustainability and food systems analyst, at kcrinerritchie@douglascountyks.org or 785-551-9436.
At last year’s event, almost 100,000 pounds of electronics were recycled; since 2008, almost 1.4 million pounds of electronics have been recycled, according to Douglas County.
The event is set for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 5 at University of Kansas Lot 301, which is just northwest of the intersection of Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street.
The lot can be accessed by heading west on 21st Street from Iowa or north on Crestline Drive from Clinton Parkway. Here’s a map:
