This holiday season, as you head out to the market to buy ingredients to prepare a holiday meal or bake cookies for you know who, think about recycling your old electronic goodies in preparation for the new ones you may receive as gifts. The materials that make up your electronic gadgets are often times toxic, therefore Multnomah County is offering its residents an alternative option for discarding their toxic trash.
You can recycle your old cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, chargers and Bluetooth headsets into one of the free recycling bins at 11 locations across the county. You can find the drop boxes at libraries and other county buildings.
The program was started by Commissioner Jeff Cogen last month in anticipation of the coming holiday season. The Environment Protection Agency predicts that we recycle only 20% of old cell phones, and that we hold onto 130 million unused phones.
This program is self-sustainable. It costs tax payers nothing to operate and even has the potential to earn the county money. Do your part this holiday season and recycle your out-of-date consumer electronics.
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