OLYMPIA — More than 38.5 million pounds of TVs, computers and monitors were recycled statewide in the first year of the E-Cycle Washington program, the state Department of Ecology said Thursday.
Free recycling of television sets, laptop and desktop computers and monitors is available in Jefferson and Clallam counties through the E-Cycle Washington program.
When E-Cycle Washington began operations on Jan. 1, 2009, it was one of the first in the nation to collect unwanted TVs, computers and monitors for free recycling, Ecology said.
The program, regulated by Ecology, is funded by manufacturers of electronic products.
During the first year of the program statewide, 22.3 million pounds of televisions, 12. 3 million pounds of monitors and 3.9 million pounds of computers were recycled.
Electronic products contain heavy metals and chemicals at hazardous levels, making them difficult to dispose of safely, Ecology said.
For example, depending on its size, a TV’s cathode ray tube contains an estimated 4 to 8 pounds of lead.
Recycling electronic products keeps toxic metals such as lead and mercury out of landfills and the environment.
“The E-Cycle Washington program is even more successful than we had hoped,” said Ted Sturdevant, Ecology director, in a statement.
“At the start, we estimated the program would collect 26 million pounds in the first year, but it hit that total in August.
“And these numbers don’t include the thousands of working units that went to reuse through sales or donations by charities such as Goodwill, the Salvation Army and St. Vincent De Paul,” he added.
There are more than 230 collection sites and services statewide. King, Pierce and Snohomish counties were responsible for more than 64 percent of the total pounds collected.
The energy savings from recycling rather than land-filling the computers alone — 10 percent of the total volume — is equivalent to more than 690,000 gallons of gasoline, Ecology said.
