Electric Partnership

After disappointing experiences with several vendors, Florida’s Indian River County (IRC) Landfill turned to Flanders, N.J.-based AERC Recycling Solutions in 2008 to recycle electronics and universal waste collected at the IRC Solid Waste and Disposal Division’s Customer Convenience Centers. The IRC Landfill says it was looking for the type of service and attention that it felt was lacking in its previous experience with larger electronics recycling providers.

The Refuse Disposal Division of the IRC Solid Waste and Disposal District operates six Customer Convenience Centers around the county and transports materials delivered to these centers by county residents to the landfill site for recycling or disposal.

“We’ve worked with a lot of vendors in the past who were larger and unable to give us the personal attention that AERC is able to provide,” says Bernie Higgins, operations manager, IRC Landfill.

The IRC Landfill services more than 132,000 residents and thousands of businesses and was looking for an electronics recycling vendor who could offer a zero-waste-to-landfill policy as well as safeguard private information left on electronic storage devices.

“Our primary reason was to keep the electronics out of our landfill by providing residents with an alternative option and, secondary, was to continue with our mission to foster a Green County,” says Himanshu Mehta, managing director of IRC Solid Waste and Disposal District. “Indian River County became certified as a Green Local Government on April 24, 2009, by the Florida Green Building Coalition.” (See sidebar, “Certified Green,” on p. 82.)
 

EXPANDED RELATIONSHIP
“AERC has been working with Indian River County to manage their universal waste recycling needs for many years,” says Lindsay Landmesser, vice president of sales for AERC Recycling Solutions, which provides electronics recycling solutions under its Com-Cycle brand. “This laid the foundation for recycling their electronics, too.”

She adds, “AERC and IRC have enjoyed a positive relationship and are pleased to continue this relationship in the future.”

AERC Recycling Solutions operates 10 facilities in the United States as well as two transfer stations. Six of these facilities—located in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Virginia and Florida—offer electronics recycling services under AERC’s Com-Cycle brand.

Tracy DePaola, AERC Recycling Solutions Southern regional branch manager, says AERC serves the recycling needs of the landfill by picking up the universal waste and electronics received by the Indian River County Landfill and transporting them to AERC’s West Melbourne, Fla., location for recycling. “AERC performs pickups once a week and picks up an average of 15 pallets per week,” DePaola says. “We also sponsor two yearly e-scrap events for them.”

AERC Recycling Solutions collects electronic items such as printers, scanners, CPUs, laptops, telephones, telecommunication equipment, cameras, handheld games and computer accessories and peripherals.

“The landfill’s main role is to provide drop-off locations to the county residents to responsibly recycle electronics,” DePaola says. “Homeowners are allowed to drop off at six different locations throughout the week. The landfill palletizes the materials for AERC to pick up.”

Before selecting AERC Recycling Solutions, Mehta says IRC Solid Waste Disposal District representatives met with two other companies. “AERC Recycling offered better pricing and had been voluntarily reviewed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for proper disposal of electronics and to ensure that the material was not being shipped directly to third-world countries,” he adds.
 

REPORTED RESULTS
Since AERC Recycling Solutions started working with IRC Landfill in October of 2008, the company has handled in excess of 350,000 pounds of discarded electronics. This includes material collected during two special one-day events hosted by IRC Landfill and AERC in January and November of 2010. The January event yielded nearly 48,000 pounds of electronics, while the November event resulted in more than 18,000 pounds.

“AERC has allowed the landfill to operate biannual collection events that have been very successful,” DePaola says. With AERC’s help, IRC Landfill also has been able to expand from one drop-off site to six, she says.

AERC and IRC Landfill plan to continue the project for the near future. “The project should continue for at least the next three years based on the contract they are piggybacking off of for Brevard County,” DePaola says.

Mehta explains that the contract is set to expire in August 2011 but includes an option for two one-year renewals.

“AERC benefits from the relationship through public outreach and awareness,” says Landmesser. “Many local businesses have begun working with AERC because of our work with the county. We have also benefitted by getting the word out about recycling electronics and mercury.”

Landmesser concludes, “Every person who recycles is bound to tell someone else.”
 

Certified Green
 

The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC), based in Tallahassee, Fla., was established in 2000. This nonprofit organization seeks to promote green building in Florida by developing voluntary green building standards.

In addition, the FGBC offers the Green Local Government Standard, which designates green cities and counties for their environmental stewardship.

The FGBC Green Local Government Standard evaluates in-house environmental practices, incentives and ordinances to foster green practices and educational activities to improve the environment, according to the FGBC.

Himanshu H. Mehta, managing director of Indian River County (IRC) Solid Waste Disposal District, says IRC was certified as a Green Local Government in April of 2009. According to the FGBC website, www.floridagreenbuilding.org, IRC “has adopted green building standards as the official minimum criteria for new government buildings, plus they have implemented green cleaning and maintenance practices. IRC also encourages Environmentally Preferable Purchasing programs, conducts a green building awards program and maintains an electronic database of all building energy code compliance. [IRC] developed an eco-tourism campaign, maintains a green fleet and assists with greening affordable housing.”
 

AERC Recycling Solutions Partners With Sefl-Storage Firm
 

AERC Recycling Solutions, an electronics recycling company based in Flanders, N.J., is expanding its collection efforts for unwanted electronics by partnering with StorSafe, a Florida-based self-storage facility. The two companies have announced a program that allows StorSafe customers to bring obsolete electronics to any of the company’s Florida locations in Collier Commons, Apollo Beach, Hammocks and Sanford.

AERC Recycling Solutions, which has a facility in West Melbourne, Fla., specializes in electronics recycling and secure data management. AERC assures its customers that all accepted electronics are disposed of according to its zero-waste-to-landfill policy.

“StorSafe is dedicated to ensuring safe and convenient storage services to customers,” says Sergio Socolsky, vice chairman of America’s Capital Partners, which oversees management of StorSafe facilities. “Partnering with AERC Recycling Solutions allows us to expand those services by offering electronic waste recycling in addition to storage solutions.”

All accepted electronics will be processed at AERC’s R2/RIOS certified facility in West Melbourne using the company’s Com-Cycle service.

More information is available at www.aerc.com/greenzone.com.