It’s normal to see shopping carts filled with electronics rolling away from Wal-Mart towards the waiting cars of happy purchasers, but last weekend the heavily laden carts were being pushed the other way by conscientious consumers anxious to give their worn-out computers, printers and other devices a “decent burial.”
Hundreds of people in Zapopan and Tlaquepaque were participating in the Reciclón Intermunicipal Program which began in Guadalajara on February 10 and will conclude in Puerto Vallarta and Chapala February 24 and 25.
This project, which is now in its second year, collects unwanted electronics, small electrical appliances, and batteries, all of which go to the REMSA recycling plant in Queretaro (“100 percent Mexican and a green employer”) where they are melted down into plastic and metal base materials. “Ninety-five percent of what we receive is recycled,” said Magdalena Marquez of Zapopan’s Department of Ecology. “Last year we collected 100.2 tons of unusable devices and this year we hope to break that record.”
What happens to electronics which are simply thrown into the trash rather than properly recycled?“Most of these devices contain precious metals like gold and silver, as well as heavy metals such as beryllium, lead and mercury,” says Marquez. “These latter are serious contaminants which do not disintegrate when dumped. On the contrary, they react with the water and the sun and can affect people’s DNA, cause liver problems and even result in cancer. To make things worse, these toxic materials eventually get washed down into our aquifers.
“Monitors are especially dangerous. Their screens are often coated with materials which can release extremely dangerous gases. We have to learn not to deposit these devices in the trash. The garbage men may recuperate some plastic and copper from them, but afterwards, they end up throwing the remains into illegal dumping sites like empty lots or canyons, creating high-risk conditions for anyone passing by.”
For the first time, Reciclon workers are collecting batteries, which, they say, require a special process for their “final disposition.”
“We’d especially like to warn the public that they should never store used batteries at home for more than six months,” says Marquez. “After a while, most batteries will leak and produce serious risks to health. Whenever you store used batteries, they should be in a glass container with a plastic lid and never for longer than six months.”
Business owners should note that when they turn in electronic equipment to Reciclón, they can get an official document certifying how they have disposed of the items.
A final word of advice from Marquez: “This planet is not just a legacy from our ancestors; it’s the inheritance we want to leave our children. If we don’t care for it, we will be leaving them nothing.”
Reciclón staff will be in Chapala on Friday, February 24 and Saturday, February 25 from 9 to 5, in front of the Presidencia Municipal. Contact: 765-8000 ext. 181. In Puerto Vallarta, they’ll be on hand only Saturday, February 25, from 9 to 7 at three sites: Unidad Agustin Flores Contreras, Dirección de Servicios Públicos Municipales and Delegación Pitillal. Contact (32) 2299-1958.
The following items will be accepted: Computers of all kinds, phones, cable boxes, modems, routers, switches, hubs, monitors, printers, hard drives, power supplies, voltage regulators, scanners, circuit boards, video games, wires, battery chargers, stereos, fax machines, recorders, mouse devices, keyboards, TVs, VCRs, microwaves, blenders, mixers, juicers, coffee makers, irons, toasters, air conditioners, fans, CDs and batteries.