Electronics Can Sometimes Be Recycled

It is a disposable world of electronics we live in, but how do you get rid of those laptops, phone, televisions and other devices that do not work.

Putnam County Solid Waste Director Doug Ashburn said electronics contain toxic materials that can seep into the land over time. Ashburn said E-Waste Management centers are setup to take these kinds of items.

“Every pound that we get of recycled materials that helps our diversion rate with the state of Tennessee,” Ashburn said. “Just that alone, and then you know recycling your electronics is kinda doing the right thing, helps our environment. So it’s just important we need to recycle anything we can.”

Putnam County’s E-Waste Center is located at 1846 South Jefferson Avenue. Ashburn said some electronics can not be recycled, and information about this can be found online. Ashburn said not all recycling centers accept E-Waste.

And not all electronics can be recycled. For example, Ashburn said televisions generally cannot be recycled.

“The newer TVs they don’t accept,” Ashburn said. “And it changes from time to time. The Ecyclers is who we use and they put out a list of things they’re taking right now and not talking but thin TV’s are on the list most all the time.”

Ashburn said items such as phones have a lot of bulky material but not a lot of weight. Ashburn said this is because parts of the phone are made of plastic and would take “longer than one person’s lifetime to break down.”

“The problem with electronics is logistics,” Ashburn said. “You have a bulky material but not a lot of weight. So you know a trucking company getting a return on the load is lower than electronics.”