Goodwill gladly accepts unwanted electronics

We’re not a big television-watching family. I seldom watch, but when I do it’s usually deliberate. I sit down to watch a show I’ve selected. I’m not one for surfing channels or flopping down on the sofa for hours of passive entertainment. Besides the small set in my bedroom, there is another downstairs for family movie-watching but we seldom turn it on. In the basement there are two small, television sets that no longer work. They belonged to my older children who had them in college dorm rooms. They take up space and I’d rather not keep them around, but I haven’t had anywhere to take them for recycling. It’s the same for computers. I do most of work on my Mac notebook, but in my home office there is a desktop computer. On the shelf next to the desktop, there are two defunct notebooks. An older Mac and a Toshiba. Same thing. I wanted to recycle but didn’t know where. So, let’s see. That makes two televisions and two computers. That’s a lot of electronic equipment with nowhere to go. Until now. In a chance conversation with Clark Brekke, President and CEO, Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest, he mentioned that Goodwill now offers green recycling for televisions and computers. Items you don’t want in the landfill and that are no longer accepted at thrift stores. I was so happy to find a solution, I asked for information. And he was glad to share. Following up, I contacted Diane Galloway, Deputy Director, Corporate Communications. “We collect electronics for ‘green’ recycling under a program administered by the state’s Washington Materials Manufacturing and Finance Authority,” Galloway told me in an email. “The program uses fees from electronics manufacturers to pay for collecting, shipping to three Westside de-manufacturers, and the actual de-manufacturing.” She added that the program is getting national attention. “Goodwill is the major collector for eastern Washington. In the program’s first year (2009) we processed 1.6 million pounds, which was 400,000 pounds more than we projected,” Galloway said. “Donors tell us how good it makes them feel to recycle responsibly rather than putting their electronics in the waste stream.” That’s exactly what I was looking for. I’m relieved to know where I can take the broken televisions and computer components littering my home. I certainly don’t want them taking up space in my basement, but didn’t want to discard them until I could do it in an environmentally friendly way. I suspect there are many others like me around the area. Brekke, agrees. “Goodwill applied to be part of this new recycling program for several reasons. It fits our values of reusing and recycling, greatly reduces waste in our environment and adds more convenience for our donors without placing any burden on the taxpayer,” he said. “It’s a great program.” Sidebar: •