THIS IS AN ARCHIVED NEWS STORY FROM 2020 AND THE CONTENTS OF THIS ARTICLE MAY NO LONGER APPLY. FOR THE LATEST COMMUNITY NEWS CLICK HERE.

The City of Newcastle had a record-breaking turnout at the July 18 Recycling Event. In what was our biggest output ever, we received 789 carloads of recyclable materials, keeping a total of 82,616 pounds (or 41.31 tons) of items out of the landfill! That's more than double what we collected last spring.

Funding was provided by the Washington state Department of Ecology Local Solid Waste Financial Assistance Program, the King County Solid Waste Division and the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County.

Thank you for protecting the environment and keeping these items out of the landfill! Planning for our fall event is already underway. Be on the lookout for another recycling collection in October. Here's a closer look at what Newcastle residents recycled.

BY THE NUMBERS

— 82,616 pounds of recyclable material (41.31 tons)

— 35,780 pounds of appliances, scrap metal and electronic equipment. The material will be sorted and recycled by various metal recyclers in the Seattle area.

— 11,770 household batteries (1,170 pounds). The batteries will be dismantled and the hazardous material disposed of properly through All Battery

— 12,667 pounds of reusable household goods. This material was collected by the Northwest Center for resale through their retail outlets with the proceeds going to their charity and education programs.

— 8,980 pounds of cardboard. The cardboard collected will be recycled by Sonico and International Paper.

— 142 used tires (3,550 pounds). The tires will be reused if in good condition. If not, they’ll be chipped and made into products such as garden hoses, playground mats, road bedding and burned as fuel.

— 164 TV Sets (8,200 pounds). The TVs will be processed and recycled by Metro Metals in Tacoma 

— 138 computer monitors (5,520 pounds). The monitors will be processed and recycled by Metro Metals.

— 19 propane tanks (950 pounds). The tanks will be reused through a cylinder exchange service or will be recycled as scrap metal.

— 35 lead acid batteries (1,239 pounds). The batteries will be dismantled, the acid disposed of properly and the cores recycled into new batteries through All Battery.

— 37 mattresses and box springs (1,110 pounds). The mattresses and box springs were collected for recycling by Uptekk Recycling.

— 12 used refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners (2,100 pounds). The ozone-depleting chemicals and gas will be removed from these units and disposed of properly by UpTekk recycling in Auburn.

— 18 toilets and sinks (1,350 pounds). The porcelain material will be processed by Lloyd Enterprises into concrete material.