Keep Carroll Beautiful and Get Involved – Upcoming Electronics Recycling event

By Cameron Lynch

Southwire LLC and Keep Carroll Beautiful are teaming up with sponsors to host an electronics recycling event on Saturday, Oct. 5. The event will be held from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. There will be drop off locations in both Carrollton and Villa Rica, so all of Carroll County can participate. Accepted items include laptops, printers, car batteries, and more.  Carrollton electronics drop off location: Southwire’s Corporate Parking lot. Villa Rica electronics drop off location: Midway Church (off of Old Hwy 61). 

It is common to throw old electronics in junk drawers and forget about them. Luckily the “Giving Back: Electronics Recycling” event simplifies the process of ridding unused electronics while being eco-friendly. Volunteers are present to accept the donated electronics and to educate on the prevalence and hazards of electronic waste. This event is a great opportunity to do some decluttering while getting involved in the community and helping the environment.  

Electronic Waste, or E-waste, is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, with an estimated waste stream of 48.5 million tons as of 2018,” says Rubicon Global representative. 

This sounds extreme but became more plausible after some research on the topic. Apple alone has released 20 different iPhone models in the past decade, for example. On average that is two upgraded phones per year, and that is not even accounting for other common electronics such as laptops, TVs and speakers. Electronics are constantly improving, and consumers are constantly upgrading. This creates tons of unwanted electronic waste.  

E-waste is not only the fastest-growing in landfills but also the most dangerous. It is known that materials such as plastic and paper can fill up landfills, but the long term effects of electronics in these landfills can be much more threatening. This is especially true because electronics, in general, are relatively new, so the long term effects of electronic waste on the environment are unknown.  

“Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs, contain potentially harmful components such as lead, cadmium, beryllium or brominated flame retardants,” as per the Electronics Takeback Coalition. 

Keep Carroll Beautiful is Carrollton’s own environmental initiative and an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.

Visit https://www.keepcarrollbeautiful.org for a list of all sponsors and accepted items for this event, or to learn more about all that Keep Carroll Beautiful does in the community. They are always looking for volunteers and ideas for how we can all “keep Carrollton beautiful.”