Next Summer ‘E-rase Your E-waste’ Event Is June 21st

The second summer “E-rase your E-waste” collection event is coming up Thursday, June 21st from 3-7 pm at the Richland County Shop in Sidney. The event is FREE and is the second of four planned for the summer months as part of the 2012 E-rase your E-waste campaign.

The E-rase your E-waste committee has set aside the third Thursday of every month (May through August) to do a collection, according to organizers. The dates for the remaining summer month collections include June 21st, July 19th and August 16th.

Collection times are from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the county repair shop at 2140 W. Holly in Sidney, next to the Fairgrounds. Signs will be posted.

UNICOR will again serve as e-cycler for all the collections, and all acceptable items can be recycled for FREE, according to Jackie Couture and Butch Renders, E-rase your E-waste Committee members helping to organize the events. More information on acceptable items is available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/npa/nparl/ewaste.

Volunteers will be available to help with loading and unloading, however, businesses, schools and other organizations with large amounts of e-waste to recycle are asked to make an appointment to drop off their items by calling Jackie Couture at 406-433-9422. Please leave a message.

Where possible larger recyclers are also encouraged to palletize their own items, or send extra staff to help get it done at the summer events. Details on acceptable items and how to palletize them can be found in a handout posted to the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab’s e-waste website at http://www.ars.usda.gov/npa/nparl/ewaste. In addition, a handy “Items List” recycling form is also available at the website to further speed processing time for participants bringing both large and small amounts, Couture noted.

The E-rase your E-waste effort in Sidney is coordinated by members of the Richland County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), Richland Opportunities Inc., and volunteers with other community organizations including the RSVP program. Several local businesses including Sidney Health Center, Lower Yellowstone REA and Sidney Sugars as well as the city and county have also provided financial support in the past as well as packaging, packing and promotional support. Already the MT Department of Environmental Quality has committed funds for advertising the weekend event again this year.