The Great River Regional Waste Authority will stop disposing of electronic waste on January 1.
General Manager Wade Hamm said instead, televisions and computers collected at the Fort Madison-based landfill will be shipped to Davenport to be recycled.
“The reason we are doing that is to keep the toxins, the lead and the mercury, out of the environment,” said Hamm, “because if we do have a problem, it could get into our drinking water.”
Hamm said the electronic waste also takes up valuable space in the landfill, which is currently permitted at its current size for another 12 years.
He said the disposal fees will change as a result of the new policy.
An example of that is the fee to get rid of a television weighing less than 100 pounds, which will increase from $3.50 to $5.00, starting January 1.
Console televisions will cost more while items like radios, cell phones and speakers can be recycled for free.
With the change in mind, the Great River Regional Waste Authority will hold a free e-waste drop-off event on Monday, December 17th.
The authority serves Lee, Van Buren and portions of Henry Counties.