TVs and electronics are not accepted for trash pick-up and can be recycled, but please don’t leave them like this at the 24-hour drop off sites:

Two of the THREE TVs left at the Kentland recycling site.

When a person dumps their TV, instead of taking it to the Newton County Highway Department (anytime during their operating hours!), I have the privilege of picking up and hauling the items. These are not your newest flat screens, they’re not tiny kitchen TVs, they’re the BIG, heavy, cLUnKY electronics that take two people to maneuver. But there is only one of me, so I have to be clever. I have to become Might Mouse, or Mighty Sara as Big Iron likes to call me. Mighty Sara is a waaaaaayyyyy better nickname than trash lady.

I like to think that I’m fairly competent when it comes to strength. There are no Iron Man competitions in my future, and I don’t bench press EVERY day (or ever), but I can haul a 50 lb bag of feed without injuring myself or others. These electronics, however are beyond my 50 lb max. I didn’t grab a scale, but it was difficult to even lift them a few inches, let alone a couple of feet into the bed of my vehicle. Somehow I got this TV here though:

It’s a simple method of props and leverage. The props are…whatever I can find. I was blessed to find tires at a different site. I had not one, but two tires to use to prop the TV up off the ground with. The extra two inches of space between the ground and the TV is crucial. It allows you to pull/lift the TV up while also tipping it forward to turn it (or roll it) on it’s side. The other key element is a nifty recycling bin, strategically placed so as to provide an additional step up so the electronic can be propped up and further lifted into the vehicle. Success!

Sometimes the smallest victories feel the best.

Lesson of the day: Don’t leave your ginormous electronics at the drop off sites, take them to the Highway Garage. Contact the recycling director 219-863-0703, recycling@newtoncounty.in.gov. If you cannot make it during their operating hours. I will come help you! Because lifting these TVs can be difficult and when they are left at the sites they can easily be broken which causes a hazard for other residents. Electronics contain heavy metals and other substances which can be dangerous, this is why they are not usually accepted at Municipal Solid Waste landfills.