ROANOKE, Va. – Thousands of pounds of electronics skipped the landfill and ended up in the recycling bin after Carilion Clinic’s first drive-thru event in Roanoke.
Across River’s Edge Park, 750 cars lined up to dump off any of their electronics laying around at home.
Computers, keyboards, cellphones and other items were placed in recycling boxes to prevent them from ending up in landfills and eventually polluting air and waterways.
With about 30,000 pounds of electronics, the director of the clinic’s sustainability program is shocked by the large turnout in its first year.
“It warms my heart so much,” Carilion Clinic Director of Sustainability Sara Wohlford said. “I hear so clearly the community saying that this is something that they want. So if this goes well, we would like to make this an annual event.”
River Acceptance, a local recycling center, collected the electronics and disposed of them in their center to be shredded and recycled.