KEOKUK, IOWA -- UPDATED: September 14 at 4:57 p.m.
It was more than a simple clean up in Keokuk Tuesday.
It was the second annual My Keokuk Goes Green Community-wide Recycling Event, held in the Faith Family Church parking lot.
Tri-State resident were able to drop off just about anything that they've accumulated.
There were recycling stations set up for paper, e-waste, appliances and even old eye glasses.
Residents could also get rid of household hazardous waste along with regular recycling.
The appliance and the e-waste, we'll get a lot more pounds of that at an event like this than other station.
General Manager of the Great River Regional Waste Authority Wade Hamm says people use those stations more at this event because the other stations like hazardous waste and general recycling are already available in southeast Iowa.
All in all the event lasted seven hours.
Here are the results in actual figures:
There were many more people than 2009. In 2009 there were 240 total with approximately 200 being from Keokuk.
For 2010 there were 322 total participants.
- 231 Keokuk
- 21 Other Iowa residents
- 52 Illinois
- 8 Missouri
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252 Ewaste (# of participants - was majority of items brought in)
76 Appliances (# of participants)
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Total Materials:
6000 lbs. paper
1200 lbs. hazardous chemical (was by appointment only - 18 appointments made)
450 lbs. general recyclables
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1 - FULL Semi load of e-waste (approximately 20 tons)
2 - van loads e-waste to refurbish
?? - Eyeglasses (still need a count from Lions Club)
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26 - “adult” volunteers (from various sponsors and organizations)
26 - KHS 9th grade student volunteers
3 - KHS teachers
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ORIGINAL STORY: September 14 at 6:14 a.m.
Fall cleaning took on a whole new meaning in Keokuk Tuesday, September 14th.
Hundreds of people dropped off thousands of pounds of items from their homes, garages and sheds to be recycled, or disposed of safely.
And all of those items will stay out of area landfills.
KHQA's Jarod Wells shows us how this event is cleaning up the community, and the environment.
"What kind of things are you dropping off today?"
Harold Shuman said, "I got rid of an old TV that quit working and was laying out in the old garage to get rid of it. Satellite receivers that updated, nobody wants."
Vicki Briscoe said, "We're getting rid of about 5-10 years worth of files. And some of our old electronics equipment and computers and that type of thing."
People had a choice of five recycling stations in the Faith Family Church parking lot on Main Street. One for general recycling - glass, aluminum and plastic. Another for paper recycling and secure document destruction.
Wade Hamm, General Manager Great River Regional Waste Authority said, "They actually recycle it, bail and sell it to a recycler that uses it."
Then there was one for all appliances
Hamm said, "The appliances will be de-manufactured, the freon will be reclaimed, the PCBs taken out and they will go to a hazardous contractor to be disposed of or recycled."
One for e-waste - computers, televisions, fax machines, printers and copiers.
Hamm said, "There is a lot of parts in a computer that can be recycled so they actually de-manufacture them, they recycle pretty much."
Finally a station for hazardous household materials - paint, cleaners and batteries
Hamm said, "We actually have a contractor that we work with and they either recycle it or dispose of it in a hazardous landfill. Instead of just a landfill like we have."
Wade Hamm and his workers from Great River Regional Waste Authority collected between a thousand and 1,500 pounds of hazardous household waste in only about three hours.
The appliance and e-waste stations seemed to be the most popular. That's because many cities in southeast Iowa, including Keokuk and Ft. Madison, offer only general recycling. Without this event, most of these items could have been headed for a landfill.
This event not only helped save the environment, it didn't cost much.
All of the workers were volunteers, including students from Keokuk High School.
The only cost is the fuel to drive items to the Great River Regional Waste Authority in Ft. Madison.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA