"This is great!" Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event; 70K lbs. collected



MILWAUKEE -- The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center on Tuesday, April 25th hosted a free electronics recycling event, just days after Earth Day.

From 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, people could show up to the drop-off site on Gold Star Drive, and get rid of electronics like old televisions, computer monitors, fax machines, cell phones, DVD players, VCRs, printers, computer equipment, radios and tape players.



Home appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators weren't accepted.

Richard Suhaysik of Brookfield was happy to get rid of an old television.

"50-inch plasma. I don't even think they make 'em anymore," Suhaysik said.

Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event



Items dropped off created a graveyard of everything that was popular five, 10, maybe 15 years ago.

"There was a turntable in there. It's been down in the basement," Mary Peter from New Berlin, who happens to have once served as an ICU nurse at the Milwaukee VA said.

Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event



Tuesday marked the VA's second electronics recycling event.

"This is great because most places charge. I think our Waste Management charges like $40," Suhaysik said.

To reach the drop-off location, you're asked to take General Mitchell Boulevard or Zablocki Drive toward
American War Mothers Avenue in the cemetery and follow the signs.

Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event



Staff will be on hand to help you unload electronics.

Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event



The Milwaukee VA has partnered with with UNICOR to recycle these items at no cost to the government. They'll be used as part of a job-training program for inmates.

"They dismantle the electronics and they recycle certain parts of the electronics and they rebuild them into new products," Casey Schimek, Green Environmental Management System program manger said.

Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event



The team hoped to collect 12 pallets of electronics last year, but far surpassed that, collecting 57 pallets and 40,000 pounds of electronics that were recycled and kept out of landfills.

This year, 100 pallets and 70,000 pounds of electronics were collected.

Milwaukee VA hosts free electronics recycling event



If you weren't able to make it to this event on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources offers tips on recycling electronics, and can help you find a place to go to recycle them.