Waste Management’s Prototype handles TVs, laptops and other recyclables, all under one roof
Waste Management Inc. already has a one-stop shop in Northeast Minneapolis for such common recyclables as paper, glass, plastics and cans.
Now, it’s added a similar operation next door, this one for such varied products as discarded computers, televisions, appliances, fluorescent bulbs, batteries and used needles, or “sharps.”
“Anything from A to Z,” said Tom Powers, operations director for Waste Management’s product recovery group. “That is what this facility is designed to do.”
The operation, the first of its type for the national garbage collector and recycler, the state’s largest, consolidates some existing recycling operations for electronics and appliances, as well as a mail-back depot for other home-generated materials. Aimed at improving efficiency and flexibility and capturing as much material as possible, it could be a prototype for other recyclers, who often specialize in what they handle.
“This is an interesting development,” said Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Paul Aasen. “It should keep less stuff from slipping through the cracks.”
Part of the operation includes refurbishing items, such as computers, for future use, instead of simply recycling them.
“This facility is just another example of recycling being good business,” said Paul Gardner, a recycling consultant and former state legislator. “They are looking at extracting more material out of stuff that niche players used to do.”
The warehouse, next to a much larger
building where traditional recyclables are handled, is divided into different areas: one place for computers, including laptops; another for appliances and another for televisions.
Many of those products are made up of common materials, whether they be copper, aluminum or lead. Collected separately, they can be pooled under one roof and shipped out together.
There’s also a separate spot for the mail-back operation, which the company began several years ago to help people and businesses safely mail such highly regulated products as mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs when there’s no other convenient local option. It’s available at thinkgreenfromhome.com.
Source: twincities.com
By Dennis Lien