Decatur Electronics Recycling Day
SPRING 2010 Event Scheduled for March 27, 2010 

Decatur High School Parking Lot
(Corner of N. McDonough Street and Howard Avenue)
>Click for 2007 Photo Highlights

TV's will be recycled for $10 cash only with exact change.

Don't throw away that old cell phone, camera or PC component! Save it and recycle it on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at Decatur's Spring Electronics Recycling event. This semi-annual event has been hugely successful at diverting electronic equipment from landfills, where they may contaminate soil and water. Batteries will be accepted.

TV's will be recycled for a minimal fee of $10 cash only per TV set with exact change. There is no charge to recycle other items.

The event takes place Saturday, March 27th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Decatur High School Parking lot, on the corner of N. McDonough St. and W. Howard Avenue. Electronics dropped off that day will be sorted and disassembled into raw materials or cleaned for re use. 

In addition to electronics, any metro area resident can also drop off batteries of any type.

Volunteers assist in unloading items.To volunteer, please contact Sandy Johnson at 404-377-5571.

Early drop offs are not possible.

For additional information call Sean Woodson, 678-898-8562

Electronic Equipment for Recycling: See updated list for items that will be accepted at the Spring 2010 Event

Almost anything with an electrical cord can be recycled at the event EXCEPT microwave ovens, furniture, light fixtures, household appliances, lamps, vacuum cleaners.

We will recycle for free:  Desktop computers , Telephones, Mini-towers, Telephony equipment, Laptop computers, Adding machines,Monitors, Calculators, Servers, Typewriters, Workstations, Label makers,Keyboards, Copiers, Mice, Fax machines, Joystick game controllers, Answering machines, Printers, Printer cartridges, Digital cameras , Zip drives, Batteries, Speakers, PDAs, Pagers, VCRs, Hubs, DVD players, Routers, Cable converter boxes, Scanners, Remote controls, Digital projectors, Stereo equipment ,UPS units, Radios, Main frames, Portable CD players, Component parts, Portable game players, Cables, GPS receivers, 3-in-1 devices, printer/copier/fax machines., Electric lawn mowers and garden equipment, any kind of Battery.

We will recycle television sets for $10 exact change.

Q: How often is electronics recycling available?
A: Twice a year, in spring and fall on a designated Saturday morning. Please check back for the updated Vehicle Traffic Plan before the event in order to ensure a short wait and a quick drop-off.

Q: Is this limited to people who live in Decatur?
A:  No, anyone may participate, including businesses and institutions from the entire metro area.

Q: Can I drop things off a day early?
A:   No. Saturday morning, as advertised, is the only time we can accept your electronics.

Q: What else can be recycled at this event?
A: Currently, we recycle electronics, clean Styrofoam blocks and peanuts, and batteries of all kinds. Check this web site shortly before each event to see what we are accepting.

Q: Why should I recycle electronics?
A: Computers, printers and other electronics contain potentially dangerous chemicals such as mercury and lead which can be toxic to living things and human health if allowed to leach into our ground water from a landfill. Styrofoam takes hundreds of years to breakdown in a landfill.  Precious metals can be extracted from some items, thus reducing the environmental destruction of mining.

Q: What kind of recyclables can I bring?
A: Desktop  or Laptop computers , Telephones, Mini-towers, Telephony equipment,  Adding machines,  Monitors, Calculators, Servers, Typewriters, Workstations, Label makers, Keyboards, Copiers, Mice, Fax machines, Joystick game controllers, Answering machines, Printers, Printer cartridges, Digital cameras, Zip drives, Batteries,  Speakers, PDAs, Pagers, VCRs, Hubs, DVD players, Routers, Cable converter boxes, Scanners, Remote controls, Digital projectors, Stereo equipment UPS units, Radios, Main frames, Portable CD players, Component parts, Portable game players, Cables, GPS receivers, 3-in-1 devices, printer/copier/fax machines. Other Items: clean Styrofoam free of foreign objects(peanuts, packing blocks, plates, cups, trays), and any kind of battery.

Q: Does this stuff need to be packaged?
A: No. It is easiest for us if the items are not boxed or bagged. If you want to go the extra mile, clip power cords and bring the cords and equipment.

Q: Is there anything I can’t bring?
A: We cannot recycle microwaves. Please do not bring old paper owner’s manuals.

Q: Is this stuff really recycled?
A: Yes, we vet the companies that assist us to be sure everything is recycled. responsibly, without being dumped around the globe. Our main vendor states “Bionew USA Corporation will dismantle all of the materials received in the United States down to the bare component, be it plastic, metal, circuit boards, CRT tubes, and any other e-waste/scrap, then the materials are sent downstream for recycling. Bionew has a zero waste corporate policy ensuring that none of the material brought into our facilities for recycling will end up in a landfill either domestically or internationally.” Some items such as cell phones may be refurbished and re-used.

Q: Can someone read the data on my hard drive?
A: It is your responsibility to clean your hard drive with one of the programs available commercially or for free on the Internet. Owners should be aware that there are risks of private or other information being pulled from laptop drives, and that therefore the donor assumes such risks and waives all liability for any potential disclosure of private, personal, financial, etc. information that may be extracted from the laptop by third parties who end up with the laptop, etc.

Q: Is there a charge to drop things off?
A: There is a $10.00 cash only exact change only for Televisions.

Q: Is there anything I can do to help?
A: Yes.  We need more than 30 volunteers for each event.  Please contact Sandy Johnson at 404-377-5571. We also find it helpful if you tell others about the event so we can have the largest participation possible.

Electronics Recycling:
A Must for the Future

by Scott Thompson

Electronics Recycling Day, held twice a year in Decatur for the past three years, is a resounding answer to a distress call from our future. It is a community effort that, thanks to our outstanding volunteers, continues to be a success.

The March 2008 Recycling Day brought more than 100 volunteers out to help unload more than 400 vehicles per hour for four hours. Adding their efforts to those of the volunteers for the five previous events, Decatur has now diverted more than 240 tons from the landfill.

Weight, however, is only the beginning of the story. In the last two events, volunteers collected more than 28 cubic yards of Styrofoam, enough to fill one of the city’s rear loaders to 75 percent of capacity.

Similarities among the six events are two-fold. First, even the event veterans are astounded at how high the pallets are stacked in the Decatur High School parking lot. Second, volunteers who show up for the early shift tend to stay through the late shift. And as we pull the barricades across the driveway at the end of the day, all the volunteers ask how they can continue to help.

Electronics Recycling Days are held in March and October.