EDMOND — The nonprofit Edmond Beautiful, which staffs Edmond’s recycling center at 20 W Third St., launched a new Web site last week designed to educate the community about environmental issues and ways residents can address them.
The site provides tips to those looking for ways to live “green,” as well as provides dates of upcoming events and ways to volunteer.
Other features and information include an Edmond ‘Yard of the Week’ archive, a history of Edmond Beautiful — formally known as Keep Edmond Beautiful — and a community profile.
States are wrestling with how best to dispose of e-waste, or consumer electronic products that aren’t useful anymore and can be toxic.
Some states prohibit landfills from accepting the waste, which contains several toxic parts including lead in computer monitors and television screens. The electronics are more difficult to recycle and more expensive to recycle than some other materials, particularly because toxic chemicals can be released during the recycling process if they’re not handled properly. Because it’s so expensive and dangerous, some of America and Europe’s e-waste winds up at landfills and recycling plants in developing countries, like those in West Africa, where workers can be exposed to the hazardous wastes.
The Oklahoma Legislature made a move to address the issue by passing a law last session will require computer companies in Oklahoma to take back and recycle worn-out computers. The law, which goes into effect Jan.1, will encourage the development of companies that can recycle e-waste in Oklahoma, said Fenton Rood, of the state Department of Environmental Quality (see video above). The law only applies to household computers, not those in office buildings, and it doesn’t cover other e-waste, like cell phones and televisions.
Before the law goes into effect, people in Oklahoma City can take their old computers and electronics to the city’s hazardous waste center. There’s only one other permanent hazardous waste collection center in the state, in Midwest City. Towns and cities in rural Oklahoma hold recycling events from time to time. Rood said the law is designed so that it hopefully will be more convenient for people to recycle their computers in the future.
The state Department of Environmental Quality is already discussing ways to implement the new law. Rood, who works in the department’s land protection division, said the new law lets the DEQ pay for its efforts by charging fees to computer companies, but that the department is not allowed to hire a person to run that program. Unless that piece of the law is changed, it will be impossible to make the required changes, he said.
What if I told you there was a way to simplify your life and at the same time, do something good for the environment?
What if I also told you that a few simple steps would also reduce the amount of junk mail and catalogs that flood your mailbox every day?
By following these tips from author Sid Kirchheimer, you can reduce the amount of paper that is mailed to your home, plus save you the headache of shredding all those credit card applications.
1. Visit www.optoutprescreen.com to stop pre-approved credit card applications and phone calls.
2. You can also go to www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist and complete the opt-out mailing form, then click the “register online” button. This is the fastest way to get off of the mailing list of the Direct Marketing Association, but it costs $5. Small price to pay, if you ask me.
One other tip that I’ve been hearing on National Public Radio is to visit www.catalogchoice.org to decline paper catalogs you no longer want to receive. Not only do you reduce the impact on the environment, but it might also help you save money by reducing your catalog shopping.
As a recent college graduate, I have an overabundance of credit card, insurance and other unsolicited mailings that clog up my parents’ mailbox every day. So, you’re welcome Mom and Dad! I’m taking my own advice and helping save the environment. But can I keep my J Crew catalog subscription? Please!
As a city, Oklahoma City is not very good at recycling. Let’s face it, we need to get with the program.
In a effort to encourage citizens to recycle, the city of Oklahoma City has launched the Blue Bin Instant Win game. You could win $100 cash just for recycling! One resident a week will be chosen for 12 weeks and can win $100 from Waste Management. If no winner is chosen for the previous week, the prize is doubled!
If that’s not incentive enough to put your recycle bin on the curb, I don’t know what is!
The game ends the week of July 7th, so hurry up and get recycling! For more information, to get a Little Blue or to get a brochure so you can enter the competition, call 297-2833.
