Tacoma/Pierce County Electronics Recycling Event

May 11-12, 2002

Preliminary Processes  Vendor Survey to all electronics retailers, repair facilities, suppliers to assess interest in forming a network similar to King County  Disabled worker training center interested in electronics demanufacturing  Few retailers were interested

Bid Process/Documents  Prepared a Bid that was sent to everyone we were aware of in the Electronics Recycling field in the local area  Surprised that many HW companies responded  Prebid meeting held to answer questions made arrangements for conference calling capability for those unable to attend in person

Product Stewardship Components  Contract Language prohibiting overseas shipment of unprocessed materials  Charged a fee to residents to participate  $5 per vehicle covered first 2 monitors/CRT’s  $5 for each additional monitor/CRT  Wrote a letter to all electronic equipment manufacturers asking for financial support

Product Stewardship Components  Intel, Panasonic and Sharp were only three that responded positively  Panasonic and Sharp paid for the processing of their equipment through Nextel  Intel offered volunteer labor through STRUT  PS Handout given to all attendees

Target Audience/Team Members  Who We Collected From  Tacoma and Pierce County Residents  Who was Involved  City of Tacoma  Pierce County  Local Non-Profit Agency (Students Recycling Used Technology or STRUT)

Advertising  How we publicized the event  Article in Enviro Talk  Press Releases  Internet  TV Tacoma appearance on City Line  Movie Theaters  Cheney Stadium insert  Display ads in News Tribune  Recycling Truck Billboards  Billboards

Event Costs  What Did It Cost?

 We estimated costs from $30,000-$200,000 depending on the attendance and the amount of material brought to the event  Recycling Costs of $56,065.58

 Additional Costs for City/County staffing and advertising

How Did We Pay For It?

 We charged $5 per vehicle which covered the first two monitors (TV’s and/or computers)  Additional monitors were $5 each  Total Collected from entrance fees was $9,200

Electronics Recycling Update  Who Did the Recycling?

 Phillips Services Corporation a well-known local hazardous waste materials handler from Seattle  Material was removed from vehicles by Phillips staff and placed in separate containers  Reusable material was segregated for use in schools by Students Recycling Used Technology

What Did We Collect?

1400 1200 1132 1000 1243 1094 935 800 768 600 400 485 578 472 1150 200 0 14% Television 15% Monitor 14% 12% Computer Other Comp 10% Printer 6% Stereo 7% HH Elec 67 1% Scanner 112 6% VCR 1% Copy/Fax 14% Other

Who Attended?

City 30% County 70%

How Did They Hear About It?

60.0% 50.0% 51.0% 40.0% 33.5% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 8.2% 3.0% 0.0% 0.5% Newsletter TV Tacoma Newspaper Rainiers Internet 0.7% Landfill 2.3% 0.4% 0.5% Billboard Spring Fair Movie Theater 0.1% Truck

Future Collection Options    Ongoing collection at Recycling Center Add to Call to Haul program Partner with local reuse network to divert reusable/repairable/upgradeable equipment back into local community   Diversion to a local collection infrastructure Currently three private sector recycling options:  Phillips Services  Total Reclaim  PC Salvage

Survey Results

Do You Want Regular Service?

No 3% Yes 97%

How Would You Like Electronics To Be Collected?

Other 7% Bulky Item Pickup 18% Curbside 44% Dropoff 31%

90% 80% 30% 20% 10% 0% 70% 60% 50% 40%

What Are You Willing To Pay?

84% 14% 0% $0 $5 $10 2% Other

Next Steps  Establish private drop off/collection services for business  Determine whether to accept electronics for recycling at our Hazardous Waste Facility at the Landfill  Determine whether to ban the disposal of CRT’s at the landfill  Determine what fees to charge for the services

Ready to Start

Happy Staffers

Gary Working

Shannon Working

Unloading Vehicles

Backstage Area

Too Much Stuff

Lessons Learned  Expensive to mobilize for events (two day event made more sense cost wise than a one day event)  Most people willing to pay for service  Most companies aren’t  It makes more sense to provide regular drop off service than to do events