This Christmas many will unwrap gifts that include new televisions and computers.
Fairly recent Indiana state law now dictates more heavily where those old TVs and computers go.
Previously, most people could lay out their old electronics and have them picked up by their trash service.
Now, state law dictates that trash haulers not pick up electronics.
It’s designed to get those products in the hands of local solid waste districts.
In Kosciusko County, The KC Recycling Depot, 220 S. Union St., Warsaw, collects things like old TVs and computers along with other electronics.
Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District Director Sue Studebaker said numbers for electronics the depot has collected is way up in 2011.
In 2010, the recycling depot collected a little more than 100,000 pounds in electronics.
In 2011, without December numbers included, they are at 145,719 pounds.
With the new state law, it has helped solid waste districts lower their cost to collect electronics.
At the KC Recycling Depot, it’s just 8 cents per pound.
Studebaker said that most TVs don’t weigh more than 100 pounds so the most someone may pay is $8.
“That just covers our primary cost,” said Studebaker. “We’ve made it a sustainable program.”
The money is simply used to help pay for employees to collect the items.
Studebaker also likes to stress that while most of the weight of TVs come in the tubes, handing in just the tubes will actually cost a lot more.
“It’s dangerous,” said Studebaker of handling the tubes without any covering. “We have people bring in bare tubes and it actually costs more.”
Electronics have now become the major item the recycling depot deals with.
Just six years ago, the depot collected just 25,000 pounds in electronics.
Studebaker also reassured anyone with worries about information in the electronics they hand into the recycling depot. Studebaker said the information from hard drives is wiped.
The products go to a company in Louisville, Ky.
Items are shredded and nothing is exported to foreign countries.
The recycling depot is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
