Pennsylvania’s York County Solid Waste Authority suspends electronics recycling program

Pennsylvania’s York Country Solid Waste Authority has announced that in light of problems created by the Pennsylvania State Law (Act 108) that requires the recycling of electronics, it must suspend electronics recycling in York County until further notice. The suspension also applies to municipal satellite programs in Carroll, Fairview, Hopewell, Penn, Shrewsbury, Warrington, Dover, Fawn, Lower Windsor and Windsor Townships, as well as in Stewartstown Borough and the city of York. Residents should contact their municipality directly with any questions about those programs.

“Act 108 has created an imbalance of supply and demand, which makes it economically prohibitive for electronics recycling vendors to operate in Pennsylvania,” the York County Solid Waste Authority says. “This situation has been happening across Pennsylvania and has resulted in many [Pennsylvania] counties discontinuing their electronics recycling programs.”

The authority says it had secured an electronics recycler for 2016, but Dec. 17, 2015, the service provider informed the authority it would not be able to service the program.

The York Solid Waste Authority advises residents and businesses to hold on to electronic devices until a new program can be implemented or to check with Best Buy to determine if the retailer will accept electronics.

“The authority is working on a sustainable solution to address the proper management of electronics waste,” it says

Electronics currently banned from waste disposal facilities in Pennsylvania include televisions, desktop and laptop computers, computer monitors and computer peripherals (anything that connects to a computer, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.). 

“This disposal ban, coupled with the insufficient funding mechanisms for recycling established in the law, have together undermined the economic viability of electronics waste recycling in Pennsylvania,” the York Solid Waste Authority says.

The authority says it is working with state officials to encourage changes to the act to enable sustainable recycling of electronics in York County.