Talkeetna and Willow kick off local electronics recycling

Do you have electronics just taking up space? You can take them to the Palmer waste facility for recycling or you can save gas and drop them at your local transfer site soon for responsible recycling. Talkeetna and Willow will be the first Valley communities to get this option.

If you live in Talkeetna, save July 19 as the date to drop off electronics as well as assorted plastics. From 11 to 3 p.m. at the Upper Susitna Senior Center there will be the opportunity to dispose of old TVs, phones, computers, microwaves, etc., even old cords and florescent light bulbs.

Valley Community for Recycling Solutions (with sponsorship by Matson’s Caring for Alaska program) is coordinating with the Mat-Su Borough and Backhaul Alaska the contracting company to have free electronics recycling at several transfer sites in mid July and early August. The company will ship collected electronics to Washington state where they will be crushed and sorted by material without polluting the air. Then each material or element can be re-developed into new products. That means there’s no mining for gold or rare earth elements that is so costly to the planet’s life.

Patrick Simpson, from Alaska Plastics Recovery will also be in Talkeetna at the same time and location to collect your assorted plastics that Valley Community for Recycling Solutions does not take. His company makes Grizzly Wood in Palmer and sells the plastic lumber to local consumers.

In Willow, folks can recycle their electronics on July 25, 11 to 3 at the local transfer site.

So save the dates to responsibly dispose of these recyclables materials.

Other transfer site locations and times (besides the Palmer landfill site) to responsibly dispose of electronics are: Big Lake on August 2 and 3, noon to 3; Sutton on August 9, 11 to 3.