Jonathan and James Stinson work together to wrap a pallet of television sets at the Mercer County Landfill recently. The electronics will be shipped to a recycling program.
PRINCETON, W.Va. — Recent legislation allows televisions and computer monitors into county landfills starting July 1, but the Mercer County has been accepting electronic devices already.
The recent passage of House Bill 4540 will allow West Virginians to dispose of covered electronic devices (CEDs) such as older televisions with cathode ray tubes and old computer monitors at county landfills again. The new legislation goes into effect July 1 this year.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP) had seen a spike in CEDs in illegal trash dumps. The items became more common in these dumps because higher quality flat screen televisions and monitors were less expensive and for several years in the state, there was no easy or inexpensive way to properly dispose of the old items, according to WVDEP officials. Options remained available in Mercer County.
“We’ve never quit accepting them..
