The Poarch Band of Creek Indians Environmental Department is doing its part to keep items not accepted at local landfills from being tossed along the sides of roadways or in wooded areas.

Saturday, the Tribe will host its annual electronics recycling event on the reservation. The event is scheduled for 8 a.m. until noon at Fire Station No. 1 off Jack Springs Road.

Environmental Director Laura Lee Cook said that tribal members anticipate this event each year because many cannot afford the fees associated with disposing of electronic and white goods.

“We do this to help the tribal members and community,” Cook said. “For instance, if they dispose of TVs, they have to pay for them, but we will dispose of them for them this weekend.”

According to Cook, the Tribe pays a recycling company a disposal fee of $10 per television received during the recycling event. She added that the event is another way to better inform not only Tribal members, but also the surrounding communities, of the importance of not littering.

“We are trying to educate the public in what they need to do and what we are doing,” Cook said. “The environmental department is trying to keep the roadways clean and keep people from dumping things in the woods. We work to watch the Tribal land all the time and make sure that nobody dumps there, so this is just one way that we can protect against dumping.”

Public Relations Tribal Liaison Sharon Delmar said the recycling event is a great public service that the Tribe is more than happy to offer the community.

“The electronics recycling event that Poarch Creek offers is a great service to the community,” she said. “It allows everyone the opportunity to dispose of his or her e-waste the right way.  We as consumers are constantly upgrading our electronic devices to keep up with technology, unfortunately most of us do not know how or where to dispose of our old electronics correctly. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this great program.”

Items that will be accepted during the recycling event include computers (CPUs and laptops), monitors, telephones, cell phones, fax machines, printers, copiers, other small office equipment, TVs, medical equipment, rechargeable batteries, stereos, games (computer and video), PDAs, car batteries, refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, microwaves and washer and dryers.

“There are so many people that have electronic devices that need disposed of, but you can’t put them in the landfill, you can’t dispose of them there,” Cook said. “In fact, there is no place to dispose of them.”

Saturday there will be an environmentally friendly place to dispose of these goods and the PCI Environmental Department encourages everyone to participate. Cook expects another successful event.

“We usually have an overabundance of recyclable materials brought to us,” she said. “It’s more than we expect every time.”

For more information regarding the electronic recycling event, call 368-9136 Ext. 2681.