Like many, we have a bunch of old cell phones, PDAs, etc stashed in a drawer in our storage area. Not wanting to just through them away, we've been looking for something constructive to do with them.
Multnomah County has an option that can help keep the electronics' toxic elements out of the landfill, clear some clutter from your home and earn the cash-strapped county a little change.
You can dump your old cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, chargers and Bluetooth headsets into one of the free recycling bins at 11 locations across the county. Drop boxes are at libraries and other county buildings.
Commissioner Jeff Cogen launched the program in October, but is pushing hard to get the word out to county residents as the gift-giving season approaches.
"Very few cell phones get recycled — Americans have three to five waiting in a drawer waiting for a solution, and we can help them," Cogen says. "This doesn't cost the county anything and addresses the needs out there."
Tossing cell phones in the trash brings environmental consequences, says Kat West, Multnomah County sustainability manager. Recycling or reusing 100 million cell phones could save enough energy to power 370,000 U.S. homes a year, according to the EPA.
Multnomah county will sell the phones to Wireless Alliance, a Colorado-based recycling company that will reuse or recycle them. The county isn't expecting big bucks. But the program costs the county — and you — nothing and could bring in up to $40,000 a year.
From Oregonlive.com --Nikole Hannah-Jones
Multnomah County has an option that can help keep the electronics' toxic elements out of the landfill, clear some clutter from your home and earn the cash-strapped county a little change.
You can dump your old cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, chargers and Bluetooth headsets into one of the free recycling bins at 11 locations across the county. Drop boxes are at libraries and other county buildings.
Commissioner Jeff Cogen launched the program in October, but is pushing hard to get the word out to county residents as the gift-giving season approaches.
"Very few cell phones get recycled — Americans have three to five waiting in a drawer waiting for a solution, and we can help them," Cogen says. "This doesn't cost the county anything and addresses the needs out there."
Tossing cell phones in the trash brings environmental consequences, says Kat West, Multnomah County sustainability manager. Recycling or reusing 100 million cell phones could save enough energy to power 370,000 U.S. homes a year, according to the EPA.
Multnomah county will sell the phones to Wireless Alliance, a Colorado-based recycling company that will reuse or recycle them. The county isn't expecting big bucks. But the program costs the county — and you — nothing and could bring in up to $40,000 a year.
From Oregonlive.com --Nikole Hannah-Jones
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