Electronic Items

As a collector with the E-Cycle Washington program our facility in Twisp is accepting a limited list of electronics covered by a Washington State law which promotes a producer responsibility approach to the disposal of computers and other electronics. This program is sponsored by the equipment manufacturers selling their products in Washington State.

This is an on-going program, not a limited time "drive" so there is no deadline for getting your equipment to us.

All households, small businesses, small government offices, and schools are welcome to participate. Anyone with very large quantities is asked to call 1-866-779-6632.

We are accepting the items listed below during our regular center hours.

Background on the program and lots of useful information can be found on the E-Cycle Washington website.

This pdf summarizes statewide collection data by county for 2009, the first year of collection.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why such a short list of covered products? The products listed contain the most toxic materials we are trying to keep out of the landfill, and represent a large component of the weight. Methow Recycles is compensated by the program, so in theory this will be zero cost for us. We may opt to accept the "not covered" products at some future time, but would need to pay for their processing, which means we'd need to be setup (and staffed for) charging based on weight, as we did in the 2006 drive. Meanwhile, please refer to our "How do I get rid of...? pdf for disposal options.

What about Data Security? Methow Recycles and E-Cycle Washington are not responsible for data on collected devices, you are. Simply formatting drives or deleting files does not provide secure and complete data destruction. For more information, visit www.ecyclewashington.org and click on Frequently Asked Questions.

Where does my stuff go? At this time three processors on the west coast are registered to handle what we collect. As with our 2006 electronics drive, this means the materials are handled domestically. While the law as written does not require domestic processing, the entities involved with the implementation of it are strongly committed in this direction. Here is an article about one of the processors in Seattle, Total Reclaim.

Can I scavenge parts from the computers you're collecting?Sorry, but no. However, if you are standing next to someone who is handing us a computer you think you can use, you're welcome to it - the whole thing.