A new Superior business has opened to help people meet a new state prohibition and "do the right thing."
E-Waste Collections Center opened to give people a place to rid themselves of broken or obsolete electronics. Under Wisconsin's new law, it is no longer legal to dump computers, laptops, computer components, televisions, stereos, telephones, answering machines, cell phones, DVD and VCR players, scanners, copiers and fax machines in landfills and incinerators. The law requires residents and businesses to recycle broken and obsolete electronics.
While modern technologies allow for nearly hazard-free recycling of e-waste, precautions must be taken to control harmful emissions and toxins that cause detrimental impacts on health and the environment, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Electronic circuit boards, batteries and cathode ray tubes, or CRTs, can contain hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and chromium, toxins that can be released into the environment in landfill leachate or incinerator ash.
The new law was adopted last fall, but didn't go into
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effect until earlier this month. Large-scale users of electronics already were required to recycle.
E-Waste Collection Center, 1020 Ogden Ave., is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Thursday. Call (800) 991-4612 for information.
