For years, recyclers have been asking EcoCycle to collect electronics-bulky, highly toxic products that clearly do not belong in the landfill. Closets, garages, basements and attics throughout Boulder County have become resting places for thousands of outdated laptops, burned-out monitors, defunct CPU’s and small-screen televisions, all because no environmentally-responsible alternative to the landfill exists. The greatest obstacle in developing a reuse and recycling center has always been a lack of space. But now that the Boulder County Recycling Center is up and running, EcoCycle’s old processing yard at 5030 “old” Pearl is available to receive the next generation of recyclable materials.

The City of Boulder and EcoCycle are partnering to create the new Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM)-the first facility of its kind in the state of Colorado. The center will initially collect three new items: computers, televisions and hard-bound books. These items were chosen as priority items for the hazards they pose to our environment if landfilled, for the waste volume they represent in our high-tech community, and because EcoCycle has gained sufficient experience with these materials over the last year to feel confident in our ability to be successful. We intend to add at least one new material per year to the list of items collected at the CHaRM, and are currently researching plastic films (such as plastic bags) and non-container glass as the next two items to be added.

Collecting this material creates an opportunity not just for recycling, but also for reuse. Reusable computers (Pentium and above) will, with the permission of the original owner, go to the Gives Foundation for donation to non-profit groups. Gives will take responsibility for cleaning the computers of sensitive information before distribution.

Non-reusable, broken, outdated “end of life” equipment will be sold to companies we’ve determined will achieve the highest recycling rates for the material while meeting or exceeding all state and federal regulations for hazardous and solid wastes. We currently expect to work with companies in Pennsylvania, California, Ohio and Arizona.

There are some differences between CHaRM and the traditional recycling Drop-off Center facilities that EcoCycle has pioneered in Boulder County. First, we will charge a fee to take certain materials for recycling. This will help offset facility operating costs and help create long-term sustainability for the program. Second, due to the stringent market standards and low value of these hard-to-recycle items, the new center will be fully staffed and open only during working hours. A team of adult workers from the DDC (Developmental Disabilities Center) will be employed to process the books for recycling and re-use.

The potential growth of this program is very large and is in some ways limited only by our imagination, the capacity of the facility, and funding. EcoCycle is already exploring markets for more types of materials-everything from textiles and plastics to styrofoam, small household appliances, VCR’s and other electronics. One challenge with the location at 5030 Old Pearl is the lack of weatherproof indoor workspace. Since nearly all of the HTR items need to be kept dry, this limitation is a small problem that will quickly grow if the new center is as successful as we expect. For this reason, new indoor workspace is a need that will have to be addressed in the near future.

The Boulder public is eager to take the next step in recovering discards. EcoCycle and the City of Boulder see the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials as an opportunity to create yet another significant community service for the sake of environmental and public health.

It's Open!
EcoCycle-Boulder Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials

Search the Hard-to-Recycle Guide at www.ecocycle.org

Location: 5030 "old" Pearl.
From Pearl Parkway turn north on 49th Street. Turn right on "old" Pearl, right again at EcoCycle sign. (This is NOT the site of the old Drop-off Center on Pearl Parkway.)

Materials Accepted: Televisions, CPU's (towers), monitors, keyboards, scanners, computer mice, printers, and any other personal computer components. Hard-back books and computer office manuals also accepted.

Charge: There will be a fee to help cover the costs of recovery. Prices will vary for quantities and materials dropped off.

For More Information: Call EcoCycle at 303.444.6634