Baltimore County officials will gather today to celebrate the grand opening of a permanent electronic recyling center in Cockeysville.
The county will begin accepting stereos, TVs, computers and cell phones at its resource recovery facility off Warren Road, officials said Thursday. The center is a response to nine “wildly successful” daylong electronics recycling drop-off events since 2001, which yielded 839,000 pounds of electronics, officials said.
At its October 2005 event, the county beat its own statewide record after filling 1,750 vehicles in four hours.
“The whole point is so the materials stay out of the landfills,” said Charlie Reighart, the county?s recycling coordinator.
“They have potentially toxic materials in them ? lead, cadmium, mercury,” Reighart said.
With the most recent addition in Baltimore County, Reighart said 80 percent of the state?s population will have access to a permanent electronics recycling facility within their jurisdiction, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Depending on their condition, Reighart said many electronics will be reused.
The county has contracted with New Jersey-based Supreme Computer & Electronic Recycling Inc., to collect the waste on an as-needed basis. The county must pay 4 cents per pound, he said.
Calls to the Lakeland officers were not returned by press time.
The facility, which will accept only household electronics, is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Microwaves or other household appliances will not be accepted.
ACCEPTABLE ITEMS
TVs
Speakers
VCRs
Laptops
DVD players
Scanners
Cell phones
Cables, cords
Stereos
Computer monitors
Computer mouses
Keyboards
