Events Try to Plug Cell Phone Recycling Gap

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Last updated April 12, 2019

Those looking to recycle old cell phones and other electronic goods will have a spot of bother in Florence County in South Carolina in the United States.  Florence County recycling sites will stop accepting used cell phones and other forms of e-waste as of the first of July this year, with those that try to do the right thing and recycle their e-waste at the sites even being up for a fine if they do so after that date.

Fortunately, others are stepping up to plug the gap being left by the County’s bizarre, environmentally unfriendly decision.  This last weekend, Waste Management and the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) teamed up to stage an electronic recycling event.  “It is very important for people to try and get rid of items now as opposed to after July (the first),” said Waste Management municipal and community relations manager Fran Plyler prior to the event.  “This is their opportunity to grab all those materials and have it recycled.”

Waste Management and the Department of Health and Environmental Control are planning to stage similar events after the County recycling sites cease, taking such goods themselves in July.  “These are items that are not good for the environment, so we’re trying to protect our environment as well,” notes Plyler.

Janet McClellan, who works on one of Waste Management’s dump sites, says she is trying to get as many people to recycle before the deadline as possible.  “The more you recycle and reuse, and the less that goes in the landfill, the less land it fills up,” she adds.