Spring is here and, with it, the impetus to pack away winter clothing, unfurl your Easter linens, and try to locate your gardening tools.
Also time to grapple with the inevitable pile of items you don’t know what to do with. How do you dispose of dead batteries? Can you throw away paint? And what’s to be done with that lazy outdated computer?
The man to ask is David Nash,
“The more I realized how bad some of our waste was for the environment,” he says, “the more I started researching companies that could help us recycle materials at minimal cost the county.”
Among Nash’s achievements are established recycling drop-off locations including
While
“We’re focusing on the
If the
Compactors help consolidate materials which is helpful not only in keeping the facility tidy but also for resale of recycled material to buyers. Nash explains that they pay-off isn’t much – approximately $0.05 per pound of recycled #1 and #2 plastics and even less for mixed plastics.
“We’re not in it for the money,” he asserts, “We’re in it to collect these items and remove them from the waste stream. Then taxpayers don’t have to pay to put it in the ground”
In addition to traditionally recyclable materials, the
While recycling infrastructure may seem costly up front, it is more cost-effective in the long term. The charge for sending waste to a landfill, known as a “tipping fee,” is based upon weight. Therefore heavier materials such as glass, carpet, and scrap metals wrack up the cost for disposal, which currently runs at $30 per ton.
For additional recycling of those more obscure objects both Chatham County and the City of Savannah are offering area residents an alternative to filling the waste basket, including upcoming events such as the E-Recycling Drive at Lake Mayer and the Earth Day Recycling in Forsyth Park.
“These events raise awareness and help residents get rid of products that are difficult to get rid of every other day of the year,” says Nash.
In addition they removed hidden and hazardous materials found in these household items such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic.
As Nash explains “These substances are great in the computer but are not good in the ground.” ƒç
Chatham County E-Recycling
When: March 31st from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Where:
What you can recycle: computers, printers, monitors, laptops, servers, keyboards, tape drives, hard drives, modems, electric motors, transformers, cell phones, telephones, calculators, power supplies, surge protectors, switch boxes, mice, televisions*, cables, sound equipment, AC adaptors, fax machines, network equipment, UPS, VCRs, tape players, cash registers, office shredders, copy machines, scanners, overhead projectors, test equipment, circuit cards, wires and docking stations. Data security is guaranteed. There will be a $10 charge for recycling TVs.
For more information or to volunteer with the event: David Nash, Environmental Program Coordinator, at 652-6856.
Other drop-off locations:
Garden City Recycling Center: Public Works Parking Lot
Pooler Recycling Center:
Hunter Army Airfield Recycling Center: BLDG