Don’t toss unwanted electronics, e-cycle them
Tony Todaro, front, carries a box of electronics, as Tylor Nolte prepares to carry a television and other devices into the facility during a recent bimonthly electronics recycling collection at the JVS Environmental collection site in Ellsworth.
Karen Mansfield/ Observer-Reporter
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Tylor Nolte of JVS Environmental carries a large-screen television during electronics recycling collection at the JVS permanent collection site in Ellsworth.
On the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, shortly before 2 p.m., a line of cars and trucks begins to form behind the Ellsworth Post Office.
Then, promptly at 2 p.m., the gates of JVS Environmental’s permanent electronics recycling facility at 1 American Way in Ellsworth open and the vehicles pull up to a platform, where JVS employees begin to unload unwanted electronics – large-screen televisions, computers, printers, microwaves, and a host of other electronic devices.
“We get a rush as soon as we open up,” said JVS employee Tylor Nolte as he carried a large-screen television inside the building.
Washington County’s partnership with JVS Environmental is vital to the proper disposal of electronics in the county, said Lisa Cessna, planning director for the Washington County Planning Commission.
About 79% of residents in Pennsylvania have access to recycling through about 1,050 curbside pickup programs.
But, while the commonwealth has worked to make it easier to recycle plastic, paper, and other items, people often don’t know what to do with their electronic devices.
It’s illegal in Pennsylvania to throw electronics out with standard household garbage – computers, cellphones, and other devices contain toxic chemicals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium that harm the environment – so the JVS Environmental e-cycling site offers an opportunity for Washington County residents to recycle electronics properly.
“As technology advances and electronic devices become more of a throw-away commodity, electronic waste is becoming a larger segment of our solid waste stream,” said Vince Gusbar, owner of JVS Environmental, noting that only a small portion of e-waste – between 15 to 20% – is collected and properly recycled. The rest of the e-waste is dumped into landfills or shipped overseas.
That means that gold, silver, copper, and other high-value, reusable materials are dumped or burned instead of being collected for reuse, he said.
Worldwide, about 50 million tons of e-waste is generated each year – the equivalent of throwing out 1,000 laptops every second.
Gusbar said it’s estimated that more than 6 million tons of electronic waste is produced in the United States each year; Pennsylvania is expected to produce over 25,000 tons of e-waste in 2022 from residential and small business collections alone. That doesn’t include large businesses or the education sector.
E-recycling is important for environmental and personal privacy reasons, Gusbar said.
“Electronics contain heavy metals and leachable materials that can overload leachate treatment systems of landfills while wasting a valuable resource that can be recovered and reused in new materials,” he said. “Many electronic devices also contain personal data which could end up as a liability if not properly sanitized.”
JVS Environmental and Gusbar’s other company, Material Recovery Solutions, collect and recycle thousands of tons of electronic waste and recyclable metals annually.
Electronic devices that are collected from JVS drop-off locations are packaged and transported to one of its processing facilities near Somerset. Once there, all devices that contain personal data are identified, removed and destroyed.
The remaining electronic devices are broken down. They are either disassembled by hand, or shredded and mechanically separated.
Once the devices are disassembled or shredded, the remaining commodities are shipped to sites where the raw commodities can be extracted and turned into new products.
Helping the environment matters to Gusbar, who is keenly aware of how often people change or upgrade their electronic devices for better and faster models.
“It’s important to me because we’ve identified a need to not be wasteful in our society. I see the items that come through our stream and it makes me sad sometimes to see how little time they spend being used and how quickly they’re thrown away and replaced,” said Gusbar. “I think it’s great to take something that would be thrown away and to use it for something else, to give it another life. It matters that we’re wasting less stuff.”
Washington County’s 15-year partnership with JVS Environmental began as occasional electronics collection events at different sites. But the events generated so much interest and so many people turned up at the locations that, over time, JVS decided to open up the Ellsworth site and collaborated with the county on the bimonthly collection events.
JVS is looking to offer more e-cycling opportunities in the future.
“We are thankful that JVS Environmental administers these events on the county’s behalf, and we are happy to continue our partnership,” said Cessna.
Items accepted include televisions; computer equipment including mice, speakers and monitors; freon appliances; and microwaves. There is no limit on number of TVs accepted (residents are asked to call 814-442-4481 if they are dropping off 10 or more televisions), and appliances containing freon are accepted with a fee of $25 per appliance.
In addition to the bimonthly collections held in Ellsworth, JVS will hold an e-waste collection at the site on Saturday, Aug. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Also, JVS Environmental is providing paper shredding events to Washington County residents on Sept. 3 and Dec. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a fee of $8 per box.
Editor’s note: Remaining electronics waste collection dates at the Ellsworth facility are May 10 and 24, June 14 and 28, July 12 and 26, Aug. 9 and 23, Sept. 13 and 27, Oct. 11 and 25, Nov. 8 and 22, and Dec. 13 and 27. All collections are held between 2 and 6 p.m.
For more information on all recycling facilities in Washington County, visit the Washington County Planning Commission website at www.co.washington.pa./us/planning. For information on JVS Environmental and its collection centers, events, and permanent drop-off locations, visit jvsenvironmental.net.