Computer Recycling Center sets yearly record in 2009

The Computer Recycling Center in Springfield is touting a new record for electronics recycling.

The center, 1434 N. National Ave., recycled more than 3 million pounds of e-waste - including electronic devices, such as cathode ray tubes, which contain potentially hazardous materials - in 2009. The total is a 39 percent increase over the amount recycled in 2008.

Much of the increase, according to a company news release, came as a result of the transition to digital televisions; the number of televisions recycled at the facility in 2009 was up 82 percent from the year before.

Ken Reiss opened Computer Recycling Center in 2001 and earned certification from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in early 2007 to crush cathode ray tubes, according to previous Springfield Business Journal coverage. The company makes money by selling the scrap materials recovered from the recycling process, which Reiss said keeps more than 96 percent of materials out of landfills.

The center also announced that it is now recycling glass products through a partnership with the city of Springfield, according to the release.