On Saturday, April 4. between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Martha’s Vineyard Community Services will host their 5th Electronics Disposal Day in the agency’s parking lot at 111 Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. This event provides residents of Martha’s Vineyard with a location where they can safely get rid off their old computers, monitors, televisions and other “e-waste.” For a small, tax deductible fee, the items are collected and disposed of, with Community Services receiving a portion of proceeds.

And those proceeds are sizeable. “In the past twelve months,” says Steven Beck of Marshfield, the developer of the event, “Disposal Days have generated generous funding for our communities through donations to great causes.” Beck added that since 2006, the fundraisers have raised $498,600 statewide.

“Since it’s a concentrated, one day event,” says Mr. Beck, “and the consumer actually comes to us, we can charge considerably less than the landfill or other disposal services. And once people are aware that as much as 65 per cent of the proceeds come back to the community as donations, they’re much more likely to participate. Hey, who doesn’t have a computer cluttering up their mud room or basement? So the event will help the Island, makes recycling managers happy and lower costs for the residents.” Mr. Beck explained that 62 per cent of the fees collected are donated while the remaining monies are used to cover labor and other costs.

So what happens to the electronics that are collected? Computers are completely destroyed, crushed into bits that are either smelted down or sold to paving and other companies. “This is done,” Beck says, “To eliminate any chance of personal identity or data theft.” The other items are either recycled or disposed of according to regulation, depending upon condition. Items that can be dropped off at these events include computers, monitors, notebooks, PDAs, cell phones, printers, faxes, copiers, scanners, stereo equipment, air conditionin units, microwaves, small refrigerators and dehumidifiers.

Fees range from $1 for PDAs and cell phones to $20 for large refrigerators. Cell phones are donated to ‘Cell Phones for Soldiers’, a group that has raised more than $300,000 to pay for phone calls home for soldiers in Iraq. “It’s a solid, win-win situation for everyone involved,” says Mr. Beck.

For those unable to make the trip to Community Services, it will be possible for a limited number of pickups for an additional fee of $9. The home pickups do not include washers, dryers and large refrigerators. For more information about ‘Electronics Disposal Day’, call 508-693-7900, extension 267.