Photo by Erin Nelson.
Volunteers place discarded electronics into boxes as vehicles move through the drop-off line at Vestavia Hills City Hall during the Helping Hands in the Hills event held at Vestavia Hills City Hall in September 2020. The city of Mountain Brook will host an electronics recycling day at Mountain Brook High School on April 3.
Electronic waste is a growing problem around the world, according to government officials.
The United Nations Environmental Program reports that the world produces as much as 50 million tons of electronic and electrical waste each year.
“The consumption of electronics has grown rapidly, and the shorter average lifespan of modern electronics has contributed to the problem in recent years,” Tyler Slaten, a planner with the city of Mountain Brook, told Village Living.
Even worse, “electronics recycling is not typically a part of normal recycling services,” Slaten said.
For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that America recycles only about one million tons of the nearly 12 millions tons of e-waste it generates annually.
This means more plastic in the oceans and more toxic metals dumped into landfills and leaching into the water and soil.
The city of Mountain Brook will give residents a chance to fight back when it offers e-waste recycling and secure document destruction at Mountain Brook High School (MBHS) on April 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“This event allows us to address some of that electronic waste in our own community,” Slaten said.
The recycling day will be open to Mountain Brook residents and businesses, he said.
The city will partner on the event with Gone For Good, a document destruction and e-waste recycling program created by the local non-profit United Ability.
The city looked at several companies to service the event, but Gone for Good “had a ton of positive feedback” from other customers, Slaten said.
Not only that, but Gone for Good provides meaningful employment for adults with disabilities, he said.
The recycling day will feature an on-site secure paper document destruction truck and the opportunity for residents to properly dispose of most electronics, with the exception of TVs and household appliances.
Accepted items include, but are not limited to, computers and laptops, cell phones, printers, servers, routers, DVD and VDR players, audio equipment, communications equipment, handheld games and consoles, the release states.
There is no limit on the amount of materials that people can bring.
There will be a drive-through drop-off at the event, and volunteers will help remove items from vehicles.
There will be about a dozen volunteers, including city employees, students from Leadership Mountain Brook and others, Slaten said.
City residents will have another opportunity to show their environmental awareness at the event.
“Mountain Brook consistently ranks No. 1 in the state in regular recycling rate, and residents should be applauded for their efforts and environmental stewardship, but there is always room for improvement and additional ways to help,” Slaten said.
He is hoping for a good turnout on April 3. “If this is successful then we hope to make it an annual or biannual event in the future,” Slaten said.
MBHS is located at 3650 Bethune Drive.
For a complete list of electronics that Gone for Good accepts, call 205-943-5252 or go to uagoneforgood.com/e-waste-recycling.
