Viewfinder: Truckloads of Electronics Recycled

More than 1,000 vehicle drivers dropped off enough recyclables to fill five-plus tractor trailers on April 30, at the third annual electronics recycling event conducted by the and hosted at the .

Dave Kutchback, Goodwill assistant chief executive officer, said the nonprofit organization is happy and grateful to be part of this recycling drive in Wildwood. "We're excited to participate, and had extra (collection) trucks sitting in reserve," he said.

Items accepted included computers, computer accessories, networking and telecommunication equipment, home or cell phones, clocks, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable and satellite boxes, stereos and audio-visual equipment, home electronics and appliances, items with gasoline engines, motors and batteries.

For those unable to recycle that day, donations can be taken to area MERS Goodwill locations.

Goodwill provides a pick-up service for large items that cannot be taken to donation sites, such as Wildwood's event.

Kutchback said some donated items are resold if they are in good shape. "Most of the items are recycled through accredited vendors. This is an important step so the items don't end up in landfills," he said.

He said Goodwill also partners with computer supplier Dell for certain recycling efforts.

Goodwill teams indicated more than 1,250 electronics were collected this year.

One Wildwood resident, Debbie Curtis, said she thinks the event is great. "I came last year, and I've been waiting all year for this one. All my donated items came from the office."

John Cronin, of Wildwood, even collected TVs from other residents in his subdivision to take to the recycling event. "We ended up with a bunch of older hand-me-down TVs, but we read a lot and don't need them in the basement. This is well organized event," he said.