Edson & District Recycling Society Launches Special Collection of End-of-Life Electronics

Posted by on Aug 18, 2015 in Press

Monday, August 24, 2015 Joint Media Release

Edson & District Recycling Society Launches Special Collection of End-of-Life Electronics

The Edson & District Recycling Society (EDRS) is pleased to announce it has received a grant from the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (Alberta Recycling) for a pilot project that will see volunteers from the local high school conduct door-to-door collection of electronics that the owner has designated for recycling.

On September 18, volunteers will be out in the community picking up end-of-life computer equipment, TVs, photocopiers, fax machines and scanners from businesses. Then on September 19th they will do the same in the residential areas. If your home or office has stored of any of this material and it’s been earmarked for recycling, please call the Town Office at 723-4403 and they will get you on the list for pick up.

These items have been accepted at the Edson Recycling Depot since the start of the provincial electronics recycling program in 2004. However, a recent survey conducted by Alberta Recycling revealed that 36% of those polled have end-of-life computer equipment or TVs sitting at home. The main reason for not taking these items to their local depot is that the individuals are too busy, the items are too heavy or they have no means of transport.

An added bonus to this pilot project is that for these two days only EDRS will also collect ‘ineligible’ electronics; this includes products that are not currently part of the province’s electronics recycling program. Anne Auriat, Manager of the EDRS notes “We have worked hard to educate Edson residents on which electronics are accepted at the Recycling Depot so they will be surprised to learn that for this special project they can recycle any end-of-life electronic item that you can plug-in or that is battery operated! The only exceptions will be large appliances and gas powered equipment.”

Under consideration with the provincial government is expansion of the province’s electronics program in the categories of small kitchen and household appliances, personal appliances, home entertainment units and power tools. Alberta Recycling has been collecting data for a number of years on non-program material and this two-day collection will help build a profile on the amount of material that is out there for recycling.

Bob Barss, Chair of Alberta Recycling, stated that “Our organization is pleased to partner with the Edson & District Recycling Society for this grant project. Since the start of the electronics program Albertans have recycled almost seven million computers & TVs. The Society is providing a unique opportunity for residents and businesses to divert even more electronics from their landfill.”

For a detailed list on the items that will be accepted for recycling on September 18 & 19th, please visit www.edson.ca/residents/recycling-depot For more information on Alberta Recycling visit www.albertarecycling.ca