Local residents can clean their homes of unwanted electronic items and appliances by bringing them to the City of Hazelwood’s 4th Annual Recycle Day on Saturday, June 7.  The event will be held in the St. Louis Outlet Mall parking lot (near the iceZone) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This recycling event is free; there are no drop-off charges.  Each of the vendor stations will be set up so motorists can pull up in front, have their recyclable items unloaded and then drive away.  Those with personal documents to shred can park their cars and watch them get destroyed on-site.

“Recycling is an educational process for our residents.  We want them to know that if we work together to reduce our consumption, recycle personal items we no longer need, and conserve our natural resources by reusing products, we can lessen the percentage of waste that ends up in our landfills,” Ron Darling, chairman of Hazelwood’s Green Committee, said.

The City of Hazelwood is partnering with two new vendors, Midwest Recycling Center (MRC) and Mers/Goodwill, for this year’s event.  They will be joining Allied Waste Services, Shred-It and the St. Louis Outlet Mall as participants.

MRC Recycling accepts anything that plugs into a wall or takes batteries (even if they are broken.)

Listed here are specific kinds of electronics they will be collecting at Hazelwood’s event on June 7:  computers; servers; desktop PCs; laptops; netbooks; keyboards; monitors; printers; modems; routers; cables; software; speakers; video and photography equipment; VHS/DVD/DVR players; laser discs; cable/satellite receivers; stereos; boom boxes; CD/MP3 players; cassette decks; microphones; mixers; adding machines; copiers; scanners; fax machines; shredders; video game systems/catridges; cell phones and batteries; rotary/cordless phones; medical equipment; power tools; small kitchen appliances; major appliances; microwaves; dehumidifiers; and lawn/garden equipment (gas must be removed).

As for televisions, MRC Recycling will only be accepting 1 CRT (glass) TV per vehicle.  Additional tube TVs 27” or smaller can be recycled for a $15 fee.  Console, rear projection, and TVs larger than 27” can be recycled for a $35 fee.  There are no fees for CRT or flat panel computer monitors.

Goodwill came to St. louis in 1918 and gained the reputation as “the original recycler.”  Their donation drives are always landfill free.  Mers/Goodwill will be accepting these items on June 7:  furniture; case goods; books and games; CDs; athletic equipment; collectibles; antiques and giftware; household items; glassware and dishes; cookware; domestics; small electrical items; and tools.  They are particularly interested in children’s and baby items such as clothing, accessories and toys.

Items NOT accepted at the Recycle Day event include the following:  damaged upholstered or furniture items; mattresses and box springs; construction materials; fluorescent/CRT light bulbs; thermostats; smoke detectors; pianos/organs; batteries; tires; or hazardous materials like paints, solvents and chemicals.

Both Shred-It and Allied Waste Services will be on-site as well.  Shred-It will have two mobile shredding trucks available to help residents destroy their personal documents.  With the growing problem of Identity Theft, it’s important for people to find a way to get rid of their bank statements, credit card invoices, and other private papers in a safe, secure manner.  Shred-It will provide this confidential service on the spot.

Allied Waste Services will have two dumpsters for people to drop off their single-stream recycling items.  The company announced recently that they are now able to accept cartons in their mix of recyclable materials.  In addition to the traditional items residents can put in their recycle containers, cartons for milk, juice, soy milk, broth, soup, as well as other foods and beverages can now be included.

Recycling has numerous environmental benefits.  It conserves our natural resources, saves energy, and reduces air and water population.  With the world population exploding exponentially and a finite amount of land mass where people can live, efforts are being made to reduce the need to add more landfills.

Not only is recycling good for the environment, but it can be a vital economic development tool as well.  Recycling creates jobs.  The process of turning collected recyclables into new products creates a chain of economic activity  that can result in business expansion, increased profits and tax revenue, as well as growth in the economy.

In 2011, the City of Hazelwood created a Green Committee composed of resident volunteers, business leaders and elected officials.  ”The group meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at Civic Center East, starting a 5 p.m.  Anyone interested in sharing green ideas is welcome to attend and become a member,” Hazelwood’s Green Committee chairman Ron Darling noted.

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