Ashland County electronics recycling event set for Sept. 28

ASHLAND — The head of the county’s solid waste district is encouraging residents to participate in an upcoming electronic waste collection event.

Ashland County Solid Waste District (ACSWD) Coordinator Jim Skora said the Electronic Waste and Television Collection and Recycling Program — set for Sept. 28 at the fairgrounds — is one of the largest waste collection events of the year. 

In 2023, the event drew 42,803 pounds of electronics waste. That amounts to 118 pounds per person from 362 participants that year. 

The event is one of three held each year by the Ashland County Solid Waste District. The others include the collection of farm tires and household hazardous waste. 

Next Saturday, the ACSWD will be accepting old televisions, phones and accessories, printers, modems, keyboards, game consoles, turntables, CDs and many other items. Click here for a comprehensive list of what’s accepted and not accepted. 

Waste is processed by GreenBoard IT, a company that specializes in e-waste recycling and disposition. Skora said the items collected by the company are sometimes refurbished for resale or sold to other recyclers and end users. 

How much does it cost to get rid of all this?

Although the electronics waste event generates the second-most tonnage of the three events, it costs the least amount of money to put it on, according to county records.

Last year, the event cost $16,881, or $47 per participant. That amounts to $0.39 per pound.

Household hazardous waste comes in second, by cost. In 2023, the event cost the county $24,138, or $78 per household and $0.64 per pound.

The farm tire collection event tops the three at $39,609, or $543 per tire and $0.13 per pound.

Skora said he’s budgeted another $25,000 for this year’s electronics waste event.

The money for these programs comes from a variety of sources, including state and federal grants, and fees charged for other recycling initiatives such as the scrap tire voucher program.

Skora said the solid waste district also receives revenue from the county’s contracts with waste facilities. ACSWD charges $11 per ton to designated facilities like Rumpke and others.

Most of that fee (72%) goes toward the district’s programs. The other chunk helps pay for “post-closure care” of the Ashland County landfill.

The landfill has been closed since November 1997. The Environmental Protection Agency requires county governments to monitor closed landfills’ ground water and explosive gases, a mandate that costs Ashland County between $80,000 and $90,000 every year.