BLAKELY — Lackawanna County commissioners recently awarded grants to cover or defray the costs of municipal electronics recycling events, a modest investment for the county that helps mitigate illegal dumping and improper disposal at landfills.
Meeting last week in Blakely, Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak approved reimbursements of up to $1,000 each for seven municipalities that held or will hold electronic recycling events in their communities. Archbald, Clarks Summit, Moscow, Scranton, and Roaring Brook and Scott townships held their events in recent months, while Mayfield’s electronics recycling collection is planned for Sept. 27.
“They are awesome,” county Director of Environmental Sustainability Nicole Shapiro said of the events, noting the county’s electronics recycling tonnage numbers have gone up significantly since it started the grant program. “They work really well, and I think the municipalities … appreciate the grant.”
Scranton Recycling and Safety Coordinator Chris McClatchy said the city appreciates the funding, which helped defray the cost of an electronics recycling event held May 17 at Scranton High School. More than 150 residents dropped off materials at that event, diverting and disburdening themselves of more than 5 tons of electronic waste, he said.
That’s a main benefit of the events, said Wendy Gordon, general manager of Kutztown-based Responsible Recycling Services. The firm served or will serve as the recycling vendor for most of the municipal events approved for the Lackawanna County reimbursement grants and often acts as a vendor for similar events in Luzerne County.
“First of all it keeps your residents happy,” Gordon said of municipal collections, noting monitors, televisions and similar electronics are otherwise often hard or inconvenient to dispose of properly. “It’s also great for the municipalities, because when people don’t know what to do with these things sometimes they end up in cornfields or on the side of the road.”
Mayfield Borough Council President Diana Campbell, who also serves as Scott Twp.’s secretary/treasurer, said both municipalities are grateful for the reimbursement grants.
“The people really appreciate it and we’re happy to have the support,” Campbell said.
Information on recycling electronics and other hard-to-dispose of materials is available online at lackawannacounty.org by clicking the “Environmental Sustainability” link under the “Government” tab at the top of the site.