By Howard Greninger
TERRE HAUTE — As new electronics are unwrapped during the holidays, many Wabash Valley residents may look to dispose of old camcorders, radios, digital cameras, computer or items with a battery or plug.
Those “e-scrap” items can be recycled during the holiday and afterward at the Indiana State University Recycling Center at 447 N. Ninth St., about a half block north of the Ballyhoo Tavern.
“This time of year, people are getting new TVs, MP3 players or digital cameras and will need someplace to recycle the old ones. We are opening for special days during the holiday, but now we also recycle electronics on a daily basis,” said Paul Reed, director of custodial and special services at ISU.
The recycle center’s special holiday hours are 7 a.m. to noon Dec. 26; 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 28 and Dec. 30; and 7 a.m. to noon Jan. 2.
The center’s normal hours will resume Jan. 4. Those hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
The center does not recycle major appliances or any appliance using Freon or hazardous products such as materials in smoke detectors, Reed said.
The center began recycling electronics full-time on July 6.
“We expect to recycle 35,000 to 50,000 pounds of electronics from July to the end of this year,” Reed said.
The daily recycling of electronics was a goal of Trees Inc., said founding member Joy Sacopulous. Trees Inc. is a nonprofit organization that supports tree-planting, and environmental and beautification projects in Terre Haute.
Trees Inc. and ISU formed a partnership in 2007. Since that time, an estimated 1.5 million pounds of electronics have been recycled, Sacopulous said.
In 2008, the two agencies formed a partnership with RecycleForce, an Indianapolis recycler. That company hires people just out of prison as a way to help them transition into the work force, Sacopulous said.
“They take electronics free of charge. They provide the truck and take them to a dismantling or de-manufacturing center, first taking the most valuable parts that can be recycled, then work down through less valuable parts,” she said.
To make electronic recycling into a daily feature at the recycling center, special grants were sought from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. ISU obtained a grant to purchase a new forklift, while RecycleForce obtained a grant to buy a truck to haul the electronics, Sacopulous said.
All items except TVs can be recycled at the center for free. A charge of $5 for TVs up to 27 inches and $10 for larger TVs keeps the sets out of landfills. TVs are accepted only four times a year at the center. The next TV recycling is Jan. 5.
“The trouble with TVs is getting the lead out of glass screens. The lead keeps X-rays inside the TV from emitting out, so there is a lead shield,” Sacopulous said. “That is done in two places and one of those is in Missouri. They do actually reuse the glass and the lead, so it comes to a good end. It is just not so easy to do.”
In addition to electronics, the ISU recycling center also daily recycles paper, cardboard, phone books, magazines, glass, plastic, steel and aluminum food cans, Reed said.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com
