• Originally published October 14, 2009 at midnight, updated October 15, 2009 at 4:43 p.m.

The city of Victoria is once again holding its E-Waste Days at the Community Center. Items will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24.

Residents of Victoria and the surrounding areas are encouraged to participate. Most residential items are accepted at no charge, with the exception of TVs. Businesses are charged a small fee per pound.

Residents, businesses, nonprofits, schools and government offices are invited to take part. Anyone wanting to participate must first register by calling All Computer Recycling at 1-877-55E-WASTE (1-887-553-9278). Once registered, participants will be told what day to bring their electronics.

Victoria's E-Waste Day will be promoted in print and television advertisements. Darryl Lesak of the city's Environmental Services Department is optimistic that Victorians will participate, proclaiming, "We would like to offer E-Waste Day on an annual basis if we continue to have a good turnout."

Indeed, the event has been successful in the past. The amount of electronics collected for recycling has increased 840 percent in recent years, from 22,708 pounds in 2005 to 190,882 pounds in 2008.

So on to the important question: What can you bring to E-Waste Day? For a complete list you can check out www.allcomputerrecycling.com and click "What We Recycle."

In a nutshell, all household and office electronics are accepted, including computers, CRT and LCD monitors, peripherals such as keyboards and mice, laptops, printers, printer cartridges, fax machines, cameras, all batteries, including household batteries, stereo equipment and speakers, telephones, including cell phones, cables and more.

Televisions are also accepted, for a small fee, due to the risk and labor involved in dismantling and recycling them.

TVs up to 19 inches cost $10 and those 21 inches and larger cost $15. Console and projection TVs cost $25. TVs that have broken glass or tubes will not be accepted. Military and senior citizens, 65 and older, will only be charged $5 regardless of the size of the TV, with a limit of one per household.

Please remember that this is not Household Hazardous Waste Day, so items such as oil, pesticides, paint and other chemicals will not be accepted.

All Computer Recycling of Fort Worth is providing the recycling services. The company's owner, Melissa Saldana, has almost 10 years experience in electronics recycling and explains that the company simply saw a need and acted to fill it.

All items collected are processed here in the U.S. Some items are refurbished and resold, while others are dismantled and recycled into new materials.

"At first people didn't know the benefits of recycling electronics or why it is important to keep them out of landfills, but now they do," Saldana explains. "Now people don't mind bringing their electronics to collection sites."

Lesak said the city's landfill is not permitted to take this type of waste because of the heavy metals and other contaminants contained in electronics.

For more information on E-Waste Day, call Melissa Saldana at 1-877-624-2682. Keep an eye out for ads in the Advocate and on TV.

If you happen to miss the E-Waste Day, you still have options. Take your unwanted electronics to Goodwill, Best Buy or Office Depot.

Meridith Byrd is a marine biologist and invites readers to contact her at meridith.byrd@gmail.com.

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