St. Johns County is preparing for International E-Waste Day, Saturday, Oct. 14, by reminding residents of its free electronic waste collection program, available to county residents at its Tillman Ridge Transfer Station, 3005 Allen Nease Road, and Stratton Road Transfer Station, 250 N. Stratton Road.
“International E-Waste Day is a day of awareness that takes place every year on Oct. 14," Solid Waste Division Outreach Coordinator Matthew Denny said. "It aims to highlight the growing issue of electronic waste and promotes responsible e-waste management. The slogan for 2023 is ‘You can recycle anything with a plug, battery, or cable!’"
Each year, the St. Johns County Solid Waste Division prevents 75 tons of harmful electronic waste from entering landfills, water supplies and community ecosystems with its free e-waste collection service. The Solid Waste Division warns the public not to place electronics in their trash bins or curbside recycling carts as these materials may leak toxic chemicals and start fires.
Examples of electronic waste accepted at the two transfer stations include monitors, televisions, CPUs, laptops, printers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, keyboards, computer mice, cables, game hardware, UPS units, external drives, modems, phones, pagers, radios, stereos, VCRs, tape players, speakers, small kitchen appliances, power tools and beauty appliances.
“Throughout the world, humans discard 61.3 million tons of electronic waste annually – more than the weight of the Great Wall of China," Denny said. "Only about 17% of this waste, which contains harmful substances and precious materials, will be recorded as properly collected, treated and recycled. We hope that, locally, St. Johns County residents do their part to protect our environment by taking advantage of our free e-waste disposal services. We want our residents to unplug their old electronics and plug into our free offer.”
The public may contact the Solid Waste Division at 904-827-6980 or solidwaste@sjcfl.us with questions about this free service. For more information, go to www.recyclestjohns.com.
