I Recycle. Do You? - Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency

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Du b u q u e Me t r o p o l i t a n ar e a So l i D Wa S t e ag e n c y n TELEGRAPH HERALD n Sunday, November 13, 2011
Reminder: Electronics
Recycling is Required
On July 1, 2011, the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency changed
its electronics disposal program to conserve space in the
Dubuque Metro Landfill and to properly handle the hazardous
materials contained in some electronics - lead, mercury,
cadmium, nickel, chromium, lithium, and PCBs, among others.
Electronics are defined as anything containing a circuit board
and/or cathode ray tube (CRT or “picture tube”). Examples
include: computer monitors and CPUs, cell phones,
televisions, printers, DVD players and VCRs.
Therefore, electronics CANNOT be set out at the curb
or placed in garbage bags, dumpsters, or roll-off containers
destined for landfill disposal.
However, all types of electronics can be brought to the Dubuque Metro
Landfill for recycling. Those electronics are subsequently broken down into
salvageable components at a secure demanufacturing facility in Davenport.
To ensure data security, computers are not refurbished or reused and their
hard drives are destroyed. The costs charged to the Agency by the Davenport
contractor for this service are passed back by the Agency to its customers.
Electronics Recycling Fees:
$5.00 each Monitors and small televisions (screen size under 27”),
laptop computers
$10.00 each Larger televisions and monitors (screen size 27” or greater)
$15.00 each Console televisions and rear projection televisions
No Charge All other electronics and accessories
For additional options for recycling electronics, call 563-588-7933 or go to
www.dmaswa.org.
By recycling electronics, valuable natural resources are reused to make new
products, water pollution is prevented, and energy is saved through reduced
extraction and manufacturing processes.
For more information, contact the DMASWA Education Coordinator at
563-588-7933 or Beverly.wagner@loras.edu.
Why Should You Avoid Using
Plastic Bags?
•The U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic checkout shopping bags annually at an estimated
cost to retailers (and their customers) of $4 billion.
• It requires 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture the plastic bags we consume each year
in the United States.
• Plastic bags cannot be easily recycled and are therefore almost universally banned from
curbside collection programs.
• EPA research has shown that only 1 percent of plastic bags get recycled through retailer
sponsored programs.
• It takes 15 to 1000 years for plastic bags to break down. As they break down, toxic
substances can leach from them and enter the food chain.
• Approximately 1 million seabirds and mammals die each year by
ingesting plastic bag pieces.
• Plastic bags are highly-mobile litter, often seen hanging from trees
and floating on ponds, rivers, and lakes.
There is one simple action we can all take that will have an enormous
impact on the health of our planet and everything living on it. The
next time you shop, don’t leave the store carrying a plastic bag.
Remember to bring along your reusable bags.
Shingle Recycling Program
Due to recent storms in the Dubuque
area, the DMASWA Landfill is recycling
asphalt shingles. The shingles will be
shredded and used to make asphalt
based products. By federal law, only
asphalt shingles from residential homes
can be recycled by the Agency.
Acceptable materials are clean asphalt
shingles and felt paper, if attached to the
shingles and not easily separated.
For more information on how to
participate in the asphalt shingle
recycling program, contact the Agency
Administrator at 563-589-4250.