The first electronics recycling event sponsored by Keep Gilmer Beautiful was so successful, there will others some time down the road, confirmed members of the local community beautification group.
“It was very successful and we feel like people really got behind it with clearing out their electronics. We had over 125 vehicles come through, which was more than I expected. We had almost no lull and it was continuously cars coming in,” said Jay Zipperman, Keep Gilmer Beautiful board chairman. about the e-recycling event held Saturday, Sept. 26,
“Some people had several items and were really supportive and thrilled that we were doing this,” he continued. “They don’t know what to do with all these electronic items, and it piles up. They were waiting to take this stuff somewhere instead of to the dump.”
Contracted recycling company, Atlanta Recycling Solutions, filled an entire box truck with donated electronic items in the parking lot behind Dalton College and the George Link Jr. Gilmer Arts Playhouse, confirmed KGB member Karen Vitelli.
The discarded devices ranged from computers, keyboards, monitors and hard drives to printers, fax machines and cell phones, she added.
Zipperman said the nonprofit would’ve had to pay for the recycling pick-up service if the truck had not been filled.
“There were eight full pallets that were 7-8 feet tall with electronics. We also collected some items from the local thrift stores and computer repair stores That’s an amazing amount of electronics we kept form going into a landfill,” he added.
The company will piece the individual items apart, then recycle the many parts, Zipperman said.
“The idea is for us to dispose of all this stuff and recycle it properly,” he added. “The company we used is zero waste, which means they break all this material down and separate out things like the plastic, cables, metal and copper. There’s a lot to it. They break it all down to where it all gets recycled properly. The old TVs that have lead in them, all that get melted down to where they can separate the lead out and dispose of it properly.”
Vitelli said one of the main reasons Atlanta Recycling Solutions was chosen for the event because they were one of first companies in Georgia to provide electronics recycling and now offer it nationally.
“Some of their customers are Fortune 500 companies, healthcare industries and small to median customers. The number one reason people use them, they told (us), is they reduce your risk of jeopardizing private information by adhering to a zero landfill policy and meeting strict government guidelines of security by following the Department of Defense guidelines for data destruction and making sure things that are recycled doesn’t distress the environment,” she explained.
The e-recycling event was originally scheduled to coincide with Earth Day and the inaugural 7 Trails Fest, which would’ve taken place in April.
Both were canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they may partner again next year, Zipperman noted.
“I would say, because it was so successful, it certainly will be an annual event. I’d love to be able to do it for Earth Day. Hopefully, that will happen next year with the 7 Trails Fest, but we haven’t gone forward with any real plans yet,” he added.