St. Charles County Department of Community
Health & The Environment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, June 4, 2004
CONTACT:
Mike Duvall, Director-Division of Environmental Services (636) 949-7415
St. Charles County Residents Make Recycle Works Successful
Statistics Show Interest in Recycling E-waste and Other Unique Items
St. Charles County (June 4, 2004) - St. Charles County ’s Recycle Works facility is welcomed by county residents as evidenced by the facility’s initial collection statistics. Since its April 17 opening, the one-of-a-kind recycle center has accepted 740 units from 170 residents and continues to accept a steady stream of recyclables requiring special handling such as used appliances and electronics (e-waste). The facility also takes corrugated cardboard and mixed paper fiber. Recycle Works is the only government-owned facility in the St. Louis metropolitan area that provides an outlet for electronic waste.
Public use of the facility diverts a large volume of waste from landfills, saving resources and helping to maintain our environment. On opening day alone, Recycle Works took in 19 pieces of electronic equipment and 16 appliances. To date, residents have recycled 181 appliances, more than 1,000 pounds of cardboard, over 6,000 pounds of paper and 472 electronic items. According to division statistics, a computer central processing unit (CPU) is the most popular item to recycle. As fiber accounts for 40% of all municipal waste, recycling paper means less trash. From an environmental perspective, recycling 6,000 pounds of paper can save 51 trees, 1,300 gallons of oil, 12,000 kilowatts of energy and 21,000 gallons of water
“With just over a month’s worth of statistics, it is obvious that residents appreciate the Recycle Works facility. Our goal is to provide a convenient recycling option for hard-to-handle items through safe, efficient and environmentally-sound management of wastes generated in our community. The residents have made Recycle Works a success through their use and support,” said Mike Duvall, Director of St. Charles County’s Environmental Services Division.
The facility, located at 60 Triad Drive South in St. Peters, offers 6,700square foot of collection space, two drive-up unloading docks, and three access bays for cardboard and mixed fiber (paper, cereal boxes, newspaper, etc.). Residents need only five to ten minutes to back up to the dock, unload, and leave.
A drive-thru area to accommodate household hazardous waste (HHW) collection at Recycle Works is planned for the future. The start date for this new service has not yet been set. However, beginning this fall, St. Charles County residents can call (636) 949-7415 to schedule appointments for HHW collection.
Recycle Works is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Contact the Division of Environmental Services at 636-949-7415 for a list of items accepted at Recycle Works or visit the division online at www.scchealth.org/es.
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