Feeling “blue” over how to toss out electronics in a “green” way? Say “yellow” to a solution.
It’s GRX, a Denver-based company that collects old computer monitors, worn out printers, derelict DVD players and unwanted TV sets — plus the cables and VCRs to go with them — and recycles and reclaims everything it can.
The company — one of a number of Colorado recyclers — collects a huge range of electronics, from keyboards and copiers to radios and routers. On Aug. 24, its truck will be at the north end of the Old South Pearl Street Farmer’s Market in the 1500 block between Iowa and Florida avenues.
The collection is part of Green Sunday, an event aimed at encouraging sustainability. The event is sponsored by the Old South Pearl Merchants Association and the Platt Park People’s Association.
Collections run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
GRX is a 9-year-old outfit that dismantles electronics, destroys hard drives and certifies that materials, which can be recycled, actually are.
In some cases, the disposal is free, such as for cell phones. In other cases, a fee is required. Dismantling electronics that contain glass, such as computer monitors or televisions, takes extra handling so there is a charge. At the farmer’s market on Green Sunday it will cost $5 for computer monitors or TVs, says Nicole Jarman, event coordinator. Other items will be accepted free.
No GRX representative was available for comment, but the company’s Web site says it ships the glass it reclaims to a processer in Wisconsin that prepares it for recycling. Electronic components that contain mercury, such as laptops, copiers and televisions, are removed and properly disposed of.
Josh Kiel, director of sales and marketing for Executive Recycling, a company that also recycles, says his company crushes components containing mercury into a fine powder, then passes the material a local mercury distiller. Kiel says the distiller is able to reclaim up to 90 percent of the mercury for use in new equipment.
At DU, electronics are recycled through the Facilities department, which handles office material such as paper and toner cartridges as well as electronic equipment. Facilities disposes material in accord with University policy.
Green Sunday also will include a display by Backyard Adventures showing how to make playgrounds from recycled tires.