Dec. 6, 2023 • Volume 12, Issue 12 • Complimentary • HiltonHeadSun.com
PRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID BLUFFTON, SC PERMIT NO. 135 POSTAL CUSTOMER
Get Rid Of E-Scrap Responsibly To Make Room For That New Tech By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
Black Friday has come and gone, and so has Cyber Monday. What hasn’t gone is all that old technology that will be replaced during holiday gift-giving celebrations. Not to worry: Beaufort County has an op for that. An opportunity, that is, to turn it in at one of two county electronics recycling events. Disposing of all that modern technology is not as simple as dropping it into the gaping maw of a trailer at the county convenience centers. According to Victoria Hoffman, Beaufort County Solid Waste and Recycling Program manager, storage of electronic materials is regulated, and cannot be stored uncovered outdoors. “Materials collected must be stored in a facility. Beaufort County Solid Waste and Recycling does not currently have a facility for such purposes,” Hoffman said. “Also, if we collected the material at the centers, we would need additional Beaufort County employees to collect and haul the materials from the centers to a centralized location for
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storage.” If there is any doubt as to what constitutes e-cycling material, the list includes any personal computers, laptops, CRT monitors, LCD monitors, CRT televisions, non-CRT televisions, printers, hard drives, and miscellaneous electronics such as cell phones, radios, and fax machines. Stay in your car, and the staff from the contracted recycling provider will haul out your unwanted goods and take them away. Only residential e-waste will be accepted. What is not acceptable are household items, including microwaves, vacuums, stereos, speakers, tuners, VCRs, DVDs, and lamps. These can be taken to the convenience centers for disposal and will not be unloaded at the event. E-waste events aren’t a matter of a couple dozen cars driving through the location site to get rid of two old flip phones, a small computer monitor and that laptop that still runs Windows 7. The quarterly events are well-attended. The August e-waste drew 866 cars to
Please see E-SCRAP on page 10A
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Bluffton and 411 to Beaufort. The total of electronic waste collected and recycled was 42,430.25 pounds from Bluffton and 34,117 pounds from Beaufort. In addition to needing storage space, there are several reasons why recycling e-waste is important. It’s a hazard to the environment, and a waste of valuable resources, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. “Unwanted electronics are one of the nation’s fastest growing waste streams. Often called e-scrap, electronics contain poten-
and mercury that can pose a risk to human health and the environment if not properly managed,” according to DHEC’s website. “Electronics also contain valuable material such as precious metals that can be recovGet rid of unwanted electronics in a responsible way by attending the Dec. 9 E-Waste Event in Bluffton and Beaufort.
tially hazardous material such as lead
ered through responsible recycling. The recycling of electronics, beyond protecting the environment and conserving resources, also provides the raw material for recycling businesses and creates jobs.” Powerhouse Recycling Inc., the company the county contracts with for this event, uses
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