Chelsea plans electronic recycling day

Published 5:17 pm Wednesday, December 22, 2010

By KATIE HURST/ Lifestyles Editor

CHELSEA — Residents of Chelsea who receive new electronics from Santa this year are in luck. The city of Chelsea will recycle old electronics and appliances Jan. 8 during its first electronic recycling day.

Chelsea city councilmember Juanita Champion said residents can recycle these items between 9 a.m.-3 p.m. by bringing them to City Hall.

Items that will be accepted include: all electronics, printer cartridges, CDs, household appliances, computers and all metals, such as filing cabinets.

All items will be recycled, not reused, Champion said.

“We’ve been wanting to do this for quite a while and now we’ve found a company that we can use and there are a lot of things they will be able to take,” she said.

There will be no charge for recycling most of the items, Champion said. Fees will apply for destroying hard drives and for computer monitors, she said. Destroying hard drives will cost $10, large monitors $7.50 and small monitors $5. If the items cannot be transported to City Hall, residents can pay $15 for the company to pick up the items that day only from their home.

Champion said she hopes the city will be able to offer the electronic recycling service once every year. January made the most sense for the first event, she said.

“We chose that day because it’s right after Christmas and people who buy a lot of electronics for Christmas might want to recycle their old electronics,” she said. “We’ll also take washers, dryers and refrigerators. Things like that are usually very difficult to get rid of.

“I had a lady tell me she’s had a refrigerator in her basement for years because she couldn’t get rid of it,” she added. “Well, this is the time!”

For more information on the electronic recycling service, or to arrange for a pick up call 441-1948.