In addition to free self-separated recyclables the new Lopez E-Waste recycling program offers free disposal of TVs,  computers, DVD players, and E-readers. Such items still current and in working order may be accepted at the Take-It-Or-Leave-It, where they will remain available for a limited time before being shifted to the e-Waste bin.

This free program does not cover computer peripherals such as keyboards, mice, cables, and printers; or other electronics such as cell phones, TV remotes, radios, tape recorders and stereo equipment. Such equipment may be deposited at the Take-It-Or-Leave-It if in working order and in demand, or must otherwise be disposed of as garbage until the program expands.

The E-Waste program operates in conjunction with E-Cycle Washington, a public-private collaboration between the Washington State Department of Ecology, electronic manufacturers and retailers, and other entities to encourage environmentally responsible electronics recycling through authorized collection sites. E-Waste collected from Lopez goes to an authorized E-Cycle Washington collection site in Lynnwood. Most items are disassembled for recycling right here in Washington and the components such as metals, plastics and glass sold as commodities for reuse in manufacturing new products.

“We could take in these electronics as garbage at $8 a can and help our bottom line, but then that mountain of obsolete electronics would end up in the Roosevelt Landfill,” says LSWDD Chair Page Read. “That’s not what the Lopez public wants. By joining the E-Cycle program we know that our electronics are being recycled responsibly, and are not being transported great distances to developing countries.”