Yakima, WA – June 3, 2003
Got an old computer or TV monitor lying unused around your house? Why not recycle it? Kittitas County is sponsoring a computer recycling event for county residents from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 21 at the Kittitas County solid-waste office, 925 Industrial Way in Ellensburg.

Many valuable materials can be recovered from old computers and TV sets. Some materials, such as mercury, heavy metals and leaded glass, can be harmful to people and the environment if they are not properly handled.

Funding from the Washington Department of Ecology will pay to have the electronics hauled to Total Reclaim Inc. of Seattle, where they will be dismantled and sorted. Leaded glass, precious and non-precious metals, plastics, circuit boards, motors and other components are then made available to recyclers, both locally and nationally.

“By participating in this recycling event, people are helping to reduce the amount of hazardous materials entering the environment,” said Sage Park, with Ecology’s solid-waste program in Yakima. “That’s something they can feel good about, and they’ll have more room in their houses, too!”

To help defray the costs of the event, nominal recycling fees will be
charged: $7 for a computer CPU, $10 for computer monitors and laptop computers, $17 for a television and $22 for a console TV. For more information, call the Kittitas County Solid Waste Department at 962-7577.

Media contacts:
Suzanne Tarr, Kittitas County Solid Waste, 509-962-7577
Joye Redfield-Wilder, Department of Ecology, 509-575-2610, or pager, 509-574-0490

Ecology’s Web site: Washington State Department of Ecology

Total Reclaim Inc. Web site: Total Reclaim Inc.