Thanks to a grant of almost $54,000 from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Marshall County Landfill is now able to offer an e-waste recycling service for televisions, computers, stereo equipment and other wired electronics. Jenn Clemann, the landfill’s recycling education coordinator, said that before the new program was implemented on March 11, residents who wished to recycle their electronics had to travel around 40 miles to Bondurant to find the nearest facility that would do it. Otherwise, they simply end up in the ground and can spread toxins into the soil and the air as a result.
“In order to collect e-waste, we had to be able to have a building that had a floor, and all we had was a shed with a ground floor, so we demoed that shed and put in a new shed,” Clemann said. The grant for $53,906 was a competitive one against other landfills in the environmental management system program with the DNR. Both Clemann and Landfill Manager Don Ballalatak said they had received “quite a few calls” from residents looking to recycle their electronics — about 10 percent of all calls related to recycling TVs — but he noted that Goodwill still takes them for free while the landfill does charge. So far, they’ve already collected 15 TVs, which is above and beyond the goal of collecting 10 a month.
Metals — specifically lead, mercury and cadmium — are the main materials recycled from the TV sets. While they are still able to be buried in the landfill, Clemann and Ballalatak are happy to provide another option.