Toxins from computers, cell phones and other electronic goods discarded by Carroll residents can ultimately pollute groundwater, a county environmental official says.
The pollution results because of the lack of a safe way to dispose of electronic discards, said Sher Horosko, a member of the commissioner-appointed Environmental Advisory Council.
“It?s not sufficient where we simply set up a Dumpster where we can hurl all the television sets and telephones so the toxins can leach out into the groundwater,” Horosko said.
The council has urged officials to spend five years improving recycling before deciding whether to build the state?s fourth waste-to-energy incinerator in Carroll, which has among Maryland?s worst recycling rates.
The council has been at odds with the county?s Public Works Department, which has supported the incinerator as a way to keep more garbage out of the landfill.
Mike Evans, the county?s public works director, said the landfill is a necessary evil but denied it allows toxins in electronics to contaminate groundwater.
A Dumpster is designated for electronics, which are then sent to a recycling company in Howard County, and seals buried beneath landfills catch anything that leaches into the ground, Evans said.
“When you?re at the landfill, you?re standing on top of a very, very large garbage bag,” Evans said. “So anything that leaches into the ground there is caught by that bag.”
Residents also may trade in used electronic goods at the Northern Landfill Swap Shop, as many residents do, Evans said.
But the environmental panel says more should be done to recycle electronic goods.
It has consulted e-End USA, a Frederick-based company, to explain how the county can increase electronics recycling.
“Most of this is education and awareness,” said Laura Gabel, vice president of e-End. “People don?t understand that when they buy something, they have a responsibility to do the right thing with it once it?s ready for the grave.”
Horosko said a separate building with a roof should be created at the landfill to protect electronics, the fastest-growing type of waste.
