A growing amount of companies, including Apple and Best Buy, are asking for their electronics back as part of the effort to eliminate e-waste and encourage recycling.
Rather than tossing an MP3 player in the trash, for example, it can be shipped off to the company from which it was bought.
There, it will be harvested for all its usable parts, which in turn will be put into a brand new MP3 player or possibly another type of electronic. The concept is simple and it saves a lot of time and resources for the company. That might only get a consumer the warm feeling of helping out, but those who return an iPod to Apple also receive a 10 percent discount on their next iPod purchase.
What locals might not know, is the Tomoka Landfill provides the same type of recycling service for a small price. Workers at the landfill weigh the dropped-off items and that determines the cost. Then, unwanted electronics are sent to certified recycling vendors.
Another way to make recycling more of a blessing than a burden is with yard trimmings. The landfill creates its own mulch from cut trees and limbs. That mulch is mixed with sand to be used to cover the trash in the landfill, but anyone can stop by and take the mulch for their own yards, free of charge. Local landscaping companies take full advantage of this opportunity.
Tomoka is also working on creating fertilizer from human waste in a process called Sludge Recycling. The fertilizer is used in landscaping projects as well and is entirely safe.
In addition to those served, the landfill produces enough energy to power 3,800 homes in Volusia County. Methane wells jut out of the ground where trash is buried and decomposing in the landfill. Florida Power and Light uses the methane as an energy source to create power. Even when the demand is fulfilled for the methane, the landfill still has more to spare, said Construction Operations Manager Chet Purves and Recycling Coordinator Regina Montgomery.
Most people are familiar with the poster boys of recycling: paper, plastic, glass and aluminum. In some areas of the country it is mandatory to recycle these items, but not in
Volusia County. Here, only businesses are required to recycle to meet the county's 30 percent annual goal set in 1988. Since then the county has met its goal every year.
"The only year that recycling has been below 30 percent was 2000," said Montgomery. "In 2008 we reached 35 percent."
But it's not just the landfill or business owners who need to get on the recycling wagon. Composting is another way to conserve valuable resources and save money. By composting organic materials, such as vegetables and leaves, a person can create their own fertilizer. The new composting barrels can be purchased for around $100 or it's easy to make a bin using chicken wire and other materials.
The iPod Touch and iPhone currently have an application to help people recycle. The app is called iRecycle and is created by Earth911.com.
More information on recycling and the landfill's services, can be obtained by calling Montgomery at 386- 943-7889 or Purves at 386-947-2952.