Some locations

in Kitsap County offering free

electronics disposal.

Earlier this month, electronics recycling rules changed statewide, but that doesn’t mean every unwanted electronics device can be hauled to recycling centers free of charge.

“Only four things will be accepted for free,” Kitsap County Solid Waste Transfer System Manager Tamara Gordy said. “TVs, computer monitors, CPUs and laptops.”

Everything else will be recycled for a fee, but there are 10 locations throughout the county that offer free recycling.

All three Goodwill locations in Bainbridge Island, Bremerton and Port Orchard; the Olympic View Transfer Station; St. Vincent de Paul in Bremerton; All Shred in Poulsbo; Bainbridge Island Recycling and Garbage Facility; Staples; and the Office Depot locations in Port Orchard and Silverdale all offer free recycling of TVs, computer monitors, CPUs and laptops.

“We don’t accept things like printers, fax machines and cell phones,” Gordy said. “Those will be accepted for a charge at other places.”

Last year, the county’s Olympic View Transfer Station recycled 5,355 TVs and 4,453 computer monitors, which were both up from last year, she said, adding that this year is the first year the transfer station will recycle laptops and CPUs.

Although the numbers of TVs and computer monitors were down slightly in November and December, Gordy said she expects to see an increase in those numbers now that the new recycling rules are in place.

“A lot of people probably bought new TVs over Christmas and were waiting to recycle them,” she said, noting that there could be an additional increase in the number of TVs being recycled due to the nationwide change to digital TVs in February.

Instead of having people hide their old electronics in dumpsters and ending up in county landfills, Gordy said it is important people take the time to recycle them.

“It is a very important program and if we can recycle them, it prevents those hazardous metals from impacting the environment,” she said.

The new program is being funded by electronics manufacturers, which reimburses agencies and organizations under contract with them through the E-Cycle Washington program.

For more information on electronics recycling, visit the Kitsap County Solid Waste program Web site at http://www.kitsapgov.com/sw/.