Responsible recycling
E-waste removal event held Friday
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HOUGHTON -- Superior Watershed Partnership and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) hosted an e-waste collection event at Michigan Technological University Friday. Printers, TVs, media players, computers, phones and tablets were all available to properly dispose of for a small fee.
EGLE Electronic Waste Takeback Program Manager Steven Noble said e-waste disposal not only helps the community but aids in making new electronics as well. "Everything that's in electronics can be but back into the industrial cycle," Noble said. "It just needs to be torn down to get to what they need for the commodity level."
Noble travels across the state to lead these recycling initiatives. He said he was in Houghton on other business but still wanted to help out. Everything from video game controllers, old PCs, VR headsets, flip phones and batteries were given by residents to volunteers, as well as EGLE and Superior Watershed crew members.
Watershed Crew Leader Jayden Call said residents look forward to this type activity. "This is an event that people typically have on their calendars year-round," he said. "They usually fill a bunch of boxes with stuff."
Call said his headquarters in Marquette holds e-waste collection every Wednesday. He brought out crew members to get pallets and help out sorting the electronics into different boxes. Responsibly recycled e-waste typically does not have a final resting place. Noble said this e-waste will travel down to Wisconsin to get recycled.
"It goes down to a recycler down in LaCrosse, Wisc., called Dynamic Electronics Recycling," he said. "They are a certified electronics recycler with have a great big shredder. They do a check for repurposing."
If a resident cannot make it to one of these events, they can find e-waste disposal in the community. According to Noble, Ed's Auto Parts on Pilgrim Road and Goodwill in Houghton take most e-waste. Other business like O'Reilly and AutoZone take e-waste such as car batteries.
Local recycling-centric groups such as Copper Country Recycling Initiative are taking the charge in the community with several members volunteering at the event.
Call said being aware of what an cannot be recycled or taken back is important for anyone who has e-waste.
"I think just being conscious of what you're collecting and what you're storing; you can be aware of what you can recycle and what you don't," he said. "Instead of throwing stuff away, try to find a way to reuse it somehow."