Dumping old TVs, computers could cost you

Jason Broker of Simpsonville recycled a computer when he lived in Florida, and he wanted to recycle his old monitor here. But he was advised to dump it and took it to the Enoree landfill Thursday. Recycling electronic products can be difficult in South Carolina. � (Ken Osburn/Staff) e-mail this story

Many of the electronics you throw away contain toxic chemicals that could seep into the ground and poison the water you drink. Much of that trash could avoid the dump and be reused or mined for precious metals.

But recycling "e-waste" could cost you.

A bill the South Carolina General Assembly will consider this year would tack $5 onto the purchase price of computer monitors, televisions and other devices with a cathode-ray tube.

The money would be used for recycling grants and to study efficient ways to deal with scrap electronics.

If the bill passes, South Carolina would be the nation's third state with a statewide "e-waste" law, joining California and Maine.

Even if landfills take precautions and follow regulations, chemical runoff can still find its way to rivers, said Suresh Muthukrishnan, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Furman.

"When there's a big rainfall, there's over-saturation of the ground," he said. "In those kind of situations, there can be water coming out of the system."

Vickie Williams, the Greenville County recycling coordinator, said a liner in the Enoree landfill makes it impossible for chemicals to seep out.

"The chances of there being a hole in that liner are so minimal," she said. "That would be the only way for anything to seep out of a landfill."

The typical cathode-ray tube contains four or five pounds of lead, which can cause neurological and cardiovascular problems, especially in children. Computers, especially older models, may also have chromium, zinc and flame-retardant materials.

Jason Broker, who recycled a computer when he lived in Tampa, Fla., threw away an old monitor at the Enoree landfill after using a gift card to buy a flat-panel screen. He looked for a way to recycle it but was advised to dump it.

"I know what they're made of," Broker said. "It's probably not the best thing to be throwing in a landfill."

Televisions and computer monitors account for about half of the estimated 1.5 million electronics thrown away in the state every year.

Another 4 million remain tucked away in attics, closets and garages, according to the state Department of Commerce's Recycling Market Development Advisory Council.

State Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, said he has introduced the bill several times. He hopes to find more sensitivity to the issue this year.

"I think the simplistic notion that any fee is a bad fee is gone," he said.

You can now recycle your computer in South Carolina, but you probably will have to go through a private contractor and pay about $15 to $60.

Greenville County provides bins at 15 drop-off sites that allow you to recycle your cell phone for free. Some phones are reprogrammed and given to domestic violence victims.

No law prevents county residents from throwing their old electronics into the trash. But it's not advised.

"We certainly don't want any groundwater contamination, and there's a potential with electronics," said Richard Chesley, manager of the recycling office at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The old VCRs, computers and phones also add to the mountains of trash that no one wants in their back yard. The Enoree landfill will reach capacity in the next year, requiring another landfill in the southern part of the county by spring 2006, Williams said.

"There are usable parts inside of these electronics — things that can be remelted, made into new parts," she said. "Anything you can reuse is better than throwing away and taking up landfill space."

State grants worth $50,000 each will be awarded this year to encourage cities and counties to start permanent e-waste programs, said DHEC hydrogeologist Pam Bergstrand. Greenville County will apply for a grant to help deal with e-waste, Williams said.

In the state's only countywide e-waste program, Charleston County residents can recycle old keyboards, hard drives and other electronics, said education specialist Christine DeStefano.

A contractor hauls away the electronics and strips and refurbishes them, she said.

The county funds the 2-year-old program with a grant and a chunk of an $89 annual fee charged to all residents that also pays for the landfill, composting and other waste management programs, DeStefano said.

"Although the (Environmental Protection Agency) hasn't regulated it, I think that's coming," she said. "We're just one step ahead of the game."

Kate Krebs, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Recycling Coalition, said she expects national legislation to be introduced as early as January.

"There's a lot of talk," she said.

Recycling old monitors and televisions can be troublesome because they are considered a hazardous material, so communities have to be prepared to put e-waste programs in their budgets, said council manager Ted Campbell, a recycling market developer for the state Department of Commerce.

"The return on your investment is long-term — keeping lead and mercury out of your water and air," he said. "

California's program, which starts today, requires consumers to pay an extra $6 to $10 for computers and televisions to cover the cost of recycling them. Maine's program doesn't ask consumers to fund it but calls for manufacturers to start paying in January 2006.

Simpsonville and Travelers Rest don't have any ordinances prohibiting residents from throwing away electronics, officials said.

Fountain Inn will replace a private waste business with a municipal service on Monday and is looking into the possibility of starting an e-waste program, said Lori Cooper, the city's Public Works office manager.

"We're going to take it one step at a time," she said. "We do want to get into that, though." Paul Alongi can be reached at 298-4746.