By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Starting Friday, North Carolina residents can no longer throw their old computers and TVs in the trash, according to state law passed last year.
The law goes into effect Friday and bans televisions and computer equipment from landfill disposal. This includes laptops, desktops, monitors, printers, scanners and peripherals. Even your computer’s mouse and keyboard must be kept out of the landfill.
Rowan County residents can simply drop off those items with their other recyclables, said Caleb Sinclair, recycling operator with the county’s Department of Environmental Management.
Sinclair said the county began its electronic recycling program last year to prepare for the change in state law.
“Basically anything with a plug, we will now take at no charge at our convenience centers,” Sinclair said.
He said the county will drop its $5 charge to accept televisions starting Friday, but TVs may only be taken to the processing center on Long Street, not the convenience centers.
“It’s just such a laborsome task to haul those things around,” Sinclair said.
The county works with national and local companies to recycle electronic items, or “e-waste,” Sinclair said. In the future, it may partner with Electronics Recyclers International, which is opening a regional recycling hub in the Stanly County town of Badin.
City of Salisbury residents also can dispose of their electronic waste at the county’s convenience centers, said Salisbury Sanitation Manager Brian Moore in an emailed statement provided by the city. Residents of other municipalities in the county are invited to do the same.
“In Kannapolis, there will be a special day to be determined … that will be an e-waste collection day,” said Ann Gibson, communications director for the city of Kannapolis. “There will be no charge for e-waste collection on that date.”
Also accepting electronics — with a $5-10 fee for televisions and a $5 fee for computers — are the Cabarrus County Household Hazardous Waste Facility and the Cabarrus County Construction and Demolition Landfill.
Enforcement of the electronics disposal ban will focus on disposal facilities like landfills and transfer stations.
The law keeps hazardous materials, such as cadmium and mercury, out of the ground and water near landfills.
The disposal ban also helps divert highly usable materials to the state’s growing electronics recycling industry, said the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources in a press release.
Other provisions of the law are designed to hold electronics manufacturers responsible for funding and creating recycling opportunities across the state, the department said.
All computer manufacturers are required to offer at least free mail-back for their own equipment, and some offer additional recycling options. A number of retailers also offer electronics recycling, as do some nonprofit and charitable agencies.
In Rowan County, Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina partners with Dell Reconnect to recycle computers and computer accessories.
A list of recycling options can be found at www. p2pays.org/electronics.
For more details on the electronics disposal ban, visit http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/sw/electronics or contact Scott Mouw with the state Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach at scott.mouw@ncdenr.gov or 919-715-6512.

Where to recycle
Televisions
Rowan County Recycling Processing Center
1102 North Long St. Ext., East Spencer
Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(704) 638-3045
Computer equipment, electronics
Rock Grove convenience site
255 Rock Grove Church Road, China Grove
704-855-1780
Open Monday, Friday, Saturday 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Julian Road convenience site
1455 Julian Road, Salisbury
704-637-5781
Open Monday- Saturday 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
North Kannapolis convenience site
614 W. 8th St., Kannapolis
704-938-3213
Open Monday, Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Dunn’s Mountain Road convenience site
1735 Dunn’s Mountain Road, Salisbury
704-637-7399
Open Monday, Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Providence convenience site
1985 Providence Church Road, Salisbury
704-636-1798
Open Monday only, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m.
Woodleaf convenience site
665 Campbell Road, Woodleaf
704-278-3006
Open Monday, Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Goodnight Road convenience site
3282 Goodnight Road, Salisbury
704-637-2115
Open Monday, Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Liberty convenience site
8835 Stokes Ferry Road, Gold Hill
704-637-2745
Open Saturday only, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Computer equipment
Goodwill store
836 Jake Alexander Blvd., Salisbury
704-637-6673
Open Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., and Sunday, 1 – 6 p.m.
Goodwill collection center
Food Lion, 8915 East Innes St., Salisbury
Open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sunday, 1 – 6 p.m.
Goodwill collection center
Food Lion, 1460 S. Main St., China Grove
Open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sunday, 1 – 6 p.m.