Lane County puts a priorety on reuse over recycling to ensure that the energy, resources and effort that went into making electronics is not wasted. 

Television and Computer Cathod Ray Tubes: 

Lane County sends all televisions and computer monitors to CRT Processing, LLC, a certified participant in the state E-Cycles program.  Their new facility in the Willamette Valley uses a proprietory process to recycle the old leaded glass into clean, furnace-ready feed-stock for factories making new televisions and monitor.

Other Computer and Electronic Equipment

Lane County sends all other equipment to be reviewed for reuse by a local nonprofit, NextStep Recycling.  Items that are reuseable as-is are made available to the public at one of their two resale stores: the Eugene store at 10th and Garfield or their Springfield store on Mohawk.  Items that are refurbishable are prepared for reuse and then offered at their stores.  Note: NextStep Recycling Center will destroy information on all drives in accordance with the U.S. Department of Defense standards (erased 3 times) before computer is reused. This supports the local community with job training and volunteer opportunties  as well as low cost, low impact consumer electronics.  Items that cannot be reused or refurbished are recycled through the state E-Cycles program or other domestic markets.

Recycling The Rest

Materials that are not processed in the above described ways are sorted and segregated for recycling on regional and international markets.  By participating in the state E-Cycles program and by interviewing our end markets, we are confident that materials collected in our program are not shipped overseas to be dismantled in unsafe working conditions.

Below is an example of likely recycling paths:

Drives, cables, wire, printers and power supplies go to Metro Metals in Vancouver, Washington, to be shredded and separated into ferrous and non-ferrous metal and fluff (various plastics – in some areas can be used as an alternative daily coverage for landfills.)  Note: All drives are destroyed on a daily basis through the shredding process.

Computer circuit boards are processed at a Hallmark Refining Company in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Hallmark refining shreds the material, then sends the shredded materials to a refining facility, Noranda in Canada or Umicore, in Belgium.

Batteries are separated by type and sent to INMETCO in Pennsylvania for processing.

Plastic exterior cases for computers and televisions will be baled and shipped to Salt Lake City for recycling.

 

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