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CHaRM: Celebrating Year One of the
Next Revolution in Recycling
By Linda Smith |
The CHaRM Turns One Year
Old
Have you been to the CHaRM yet? The Eco-Cycle/Boulder Center for
Hard-to-Recycle Materials is celebrating its first year in
business.
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At Eco-Cycle, we try to
do what our community asks of us. One year ago, with the help of
our partner, the City of Boulder Environmental Affairs Office, we
opened a one-of-a-kind center to accept unusual and
hard-to-recycle materials. Why would we do this when it’s as
unprofitable as recycling was in 1976? Because you asked for it!
And we’re pleased to announce that the Center for Hard-to-Recycle
Materials’ (CHaRM’s) first year has been bigger and better than we
dreamed it would be.
When the recycling of cans, glass and paper entered the
mainstream, we started to receive thousands of phone calls asking
for the chance to recycle even more stuff, like electronics, cell
phones, TVs, books and even some really tricky items like plastic
bags. |
A one-of-a-kind center
in Colorado, the CHaRM was created to take those unusual materials
recyclers can't bear to throw away, such as electronics, books,
and now #2 and #4 clean, dry, empty plastic bags |
Having
accepted the challenge a year ago, it now looks like the next
phase of the recycling revolution has begun in earnest.
Since we
opened in November of 2001, we have recycled 163 tons of
“electronic scrap” material, preventing over 15 tons of lead, as
well as mercury, cadmium and arsenic from entering the
landfill—toxins that can and do leak from landfills into
surrounding groundwater and soil. The tonnage collected included
3,715 monitors, 2,337 CPUs and laptops, 580 televisions and 2,900
other pieces of equipment (printers, scanners, copiers, VCRs, fax
machines). Our rising success means less toxic heavy metals in the
Weld and Jefferson County landfills. |
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The
equipment is demanufactured in the US where toxins are handled
responsibly and the component parts such as aluminum, tin, copper,
iron, silica and plastic are separated out for remanufacturing.
Ninety-eight percent of the material we collect is reused or
recycled; the remaining 2% includes materials such as the wood in
TVs and the small amounts of PVC in computers. Working computers
of Pentium I quality and higher are given to non-profit
organizations through the Gives Foundation. Fifty-one computers
and nineteen monitors were donated to the Gives Foundation through
the CHaRM this past year. To continue
advancing our community’s recycling capability, Eco-Cycle staff is
researching the feasibility of collecting and marketing new items
for which there are currently no recycling services. Included in
this research are Styrofoam, textiles, carpet, and non-container
glass. Additionally, Eco-Cycle’s Commercial Services Department
plans to add hard-to-recycle collection services, saving
businesses the trip to the CHaRM.
Markets do not currently support the
profitability of an operation such as the CHaRM. The financial
support of the City of Boulder, Eco-Cycle and visitors to the
Center make this program possible. Your payment for recycling
certain items at the CHaRM contributes a portion of what we must
pay for the safe and responsible handling of the materials.
Ultimately, we do not believe consumers,
government and non-profits should have to foot the bill for
recycling products manufacturers put into the world. The CHaRM
handles many materials that we think the “producers” (either
manufacturers or importers) should take financial and
environmental responsibility for, leading them to design products
that can be recycled or composted rather than landfilled. Until
society can require producers to take responsibility for materials
they put into the world, Eco-Cycle is diverting from the landfill
as many of these non-traditionally recycled materials as possible.
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 What’s
Recycled at the CHaRM?
• Computers and Computer Components
• TVs
• Books and Computer Manuals
• VCRs
• Cell Phones
• Fax Machines
• Copiers
• Plastic Bags #2 and #4 (Clean, Dry, Empty)
There is a fee for the electronic materials
(except cell phones) to help us cover the costs of handling and
marketing these toxic items in an environmentally-responsible way.
Location: 5030 “old” Pearl (This is
NOT the site of the old Drop-off Center on Pearl Pkwy. Please see
the map.)
Hours: 9am-4pm Mon.-Sat.
Charge: There will be a fee for the
electronic items to cover the costs of recovery. Please call for
details.
More Info: Call 303-444-6634 |
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