The speed at which today's cutting edge, state-of-the-art technology becomes tomorrow's mimeograph machine or eight-track tape player is astounding.

As a result, the advances in technology are creating a new kind of waste known as "e-waste" - - broken or obsolete electronic equipment.

Recently, Lincoln County partnered with Creative Recycling of Palmetto, Georgia, to help citizens dispose of this type of waste in an environmentally friendly manner.

The company, which has already installed a trailer at the Lincoln County Convenience Center on New Petersburg, has agreed to pick up the e-waste at no charge to the countyortheconsumer.T h e electronic equipment will then be transported to one or both of the company's plants in Palmetto and Tampa, dismantled, sanitized (cell phones and computers), and recycled.

Local residents may bring their e-waste to the convenience center during regular hours of operation: from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

The following e-waste will be accepted for recycling at the convenience center: computer monitors, towers, hard drives, mixed drives, circuit boards, modems, keyboards, speakers, "mice," and servers.

Cell phones and regular telephones; dry-cell batteries; vacuum cleaners; transformers; LED monitors; cameras; projectors; remote controls; DVD players; VCRs, microwave ovens; hubs; PDAs; networking equipment.

Fax machines; hand-held kitchen appliances and power tools; copy machines; scanners; non-hazardous medical equipment; banking equipment; and televisions (a $10 processing charge is attached for TVs due to the bulk of these items).

Among the items that will not be accepted by Creative Recycling are refrigerators, dishwashers, fluorescent tubes, bio-waste, washing machines, devices containing mercury, hazardous chemicals and other materials, clothes dryers, and light bulbs.

"E-waste is a point of concern, being that many components of such equipment are considered toxic and are not biodegradable," said Jim Butler of the Lincoln County Code Enforcement Office. "If the waste is not disposed of properly, it is a major source of carcinogens and toxic materials such as mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, sulfur, and PCBs. However, if treated properly, electronic waste can be a valuable source of secondary raw materials.

"The solutions are there, but in most cases, a legal framework, collection systems, and other services are not in place to encourage the recycling of such products," the code enforcement officer continued. "We hope that all residents will take advantage of this opportunity to dispose of their ewaste in an environmentally friendly way.

"It will be well worth the effort to reduce chemical and industrial pollution, illegal dumping, and the amount of sold waste being disposed of in landfills."

In other comments, Butler pointed out that researchers estimate that 75 percent of obsolete electronics are in storage due to a lack of knowledge as to how to dispose of them properly, while the remaining 25 percent are sent to landfills where toxins from these items may leak into the soil and ground water supply.

Electronic waste is becoming one of America's fastest growing problems. A study conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that e-waste accounts for four percent of the United State's municipal solid waste stream and is growing at a tremendously accelerated rate - - two to three times faster than any other waste stream.

Other interesting facts about ewaste include:

.. According to the EPA, an estimated 30 to 40 million PCs will be ready for "end-of-life management" each year for the next few years.

.. About 25 million TVs are taken out of service yearly.

.. The EPA estimated that in 2005, the United States discarded 1.5 to 1.9 million tons (three billion pounds) of computers, TVs, VCRs, monitors, cell phones, and other equipment.

.. In 2006, Americans generated 2.9 million tons of e-waste. Of this amount, only 330,000 tons or 11.4 percent were recycled, according to the EPA. The rest was trashed in landfills or incinerators.

.. Computer and television monitors with cathode ray tubes contain four to eight pounds of lead on average as well as barium and cadmium. All of theses materials can cause damage to human nervous and respiratory systems.

.. The EPD estimated that 29.9 million desktops and 12 million laptops were discarded in 2007. That's over 112,000 computers discarded per day.

For more information about recycling, contact the Lincoln County Code Enforcement Office at 706-359-5522.