Courtesy: CHAT Newsroom

By Angela Kazmierczak

Landfill expands electronic program to meet demands

Jan 31, 2023 | 2:46 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It is expected that the number of mobile phones will grow to over 18 billion in 2025.

But once these phones become outdated or broken, where do they go?

For Medicine Hat, the Waste Management Facility at the landfill is an option, and its program has expanded what you can recycle.

The e-waste program first started in 2004 with computers and televisions. Since then, the program has grown to include a long list of electronics, including microwaves, blenders, video games, power tools – anything with a chord.

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An annual waste roundup is held in September at the Medicine Hat Stampede Grounds, but electronics can also be dropped off at the landfill Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for free.

Cory Manz, the landfill superintendent of the Waste Management Facility, says these materials will then be sent to a processing facility to be recycled.

“We collect the material, we’ll sort it, package it. And then it’ll be sent to one of the processors for recycling, at their facility, where they’ll remove the plastics and the glass, any other metals,” said Manz.

He says it’s important that programs like this one exist.

“TVs and electronics are being mass built now, so there’s honestly a need to keep the material out of our landfill to save the environment and also save valuable air space,” said Manz.

Personal information should be cleared from electronics before dropping them off.