Recycling group now charging fees

A drop in the value of recycled electronics has caused the Capital Area Corporate Recycling Council to begin charging fees for some items. “We wanted to keep it lower than a Starbucks coffee,” says Nancy Jo Craig, executive director of the CACRC, a 10-year-old nonprofit organization. The organization now charges $4 for every monitor it recycles ($5 if the device has a cracked casing) and $3 for each printer, fax machine or scanner. CACRC will still accept cell phones, servers, laptops and computers for free. The new fees have been in effect since Jan. 1, Craig says most customers “haven’t blinked an eye about it.” “It would cost twice as much to recycle electronics through a private company,” she says. The economic downturn has caused the value of recycled material to drop sharply. “The value was the highest it had ever been last summer, then it quickly went to the lowest it’s ever been,” Craig says. “We’re having to try and make ends meet.”—Timothy Boone