E-waste collection facing hurdles in Atlanta area

May 8, 2019 at 2:14 a.m. | Updated May 8, 2019 at 2:18 a.m.

by Neil Abeles

At about the middle of the five-hour E-Waste collection day, volunteers paused for a group photo. The adults jumped right in the middle of the youth workers, most of whom were volunteers from two local Boy Scout troops. Notice the huge pallets that have been loaded on the flat-bed trailers for hauling to Texarkana.
At about the middle of the five-hour E-Waste collection day, volunteers paused for a group photo. The adults jumped right in the middle of the youth workers, most of whom were volunteers from two local Boy Scout troops. Notice the huge pallets that have been loaded on the flat-bed trailers for hauling to Texarkana.

Atlanta's popular annual electronic waste recycling day-made possible through the efforts of the Amity Study Club-may be nearing an end.

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Photo by Benjamin Krain

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --10/27/2014-- Eric Sundell drags a hose across the parking lot of his son's restaurant, The Root Cafe, while helping him with some gardening in front of a large mural of vegatables in space painted on the Esse Purse Museum on South Main Street in Little Rock.

The 2019 five-hour collection drive Saturday, April 27, was hugely successful again in its 14th year. Club environmental leader Rosalie Griffin said 16,300 pounds of electric waste were collected. Rosalie, along with husband Bill Griffin and Lonnie and Judy Lynch have been the major leaders in the effort.

An individual counting of vehicles arriving to unload electronic trash numbered 135 cars and trucks, Griffin said. The electronic items filled three flatbed trailers loaded with large pallet boxes

A major concern is that UNICOR, the organization that accepts the waste, is no longer providing an osite pickup service. In past years, that service included the provision of an 18-wheel trailer that would be almost completely filled with the pallets. The pallets and huge boxes were also provided and hauled away by UNICOR.

That trailer is no longer available, and the families of Griffin and Lynch, as well as an additional driver, provided the trailers and transportation to Texarkana. That effort is expensive, time-consuming and quite difficult.

"We'e going to talk to officials," Rosalie Griffin said. 'And then we'll see what happens."

"So much good is being done by the e-waste collection and keeping this kind of trash out of landfills."

This year's day was held for the second year at Guard-Line, Inc, in the Atlanta Business Park off U.S. 59 south of Atlanta. The sunny and cool weather brought out not only many waste donors but also helpers. Two Boy Scout troops showed up unexpectedly and joined about 10 Amity Club members and others volunteering to greet donors and then provide the muscle and back power to do the unloading.

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