Portage County's recycling event Thursday saw 'unprecedented demand.' Here's how much they collected.

Caitlin Shuda, Stevens Point Journal
·2 min read
A line of cars waits to enter the Portage County Transfer Facility in Plover Oct. 12 to offload their items during an electronics recycling event.
A line of cars waits to enter the Portage County Transfer Facility in Plover Oct. 12 to offload their items during an electronics recycling event.

PLOVER − Hundreds of vehicles went through Portage County's recycling event this week, donating thousands of pounds of items.

Thursday’s electronics recycling event saw almost 500 vehicles and collected between 18,000 and 20,000 pounds of materials, but due to unprecedented demand, many people were turned away from the event and were unable to recycle their items, according to a news release from Portage County Solid Waste.

Portage County Solid Waste hosted the electronic and small appliance recycling event from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Portage County Transfer Facility in Plover. Portage County residents were able to drop off 20 items per vehicle for free. The group had lists of acceptable and unacceptable items.

Organizers say they did not expect such a high demand, according to the news release. The group coordinated the Portage County event based on the last event held June 1 in Amherst. At that event, 202 vehicles came through in two and a half hours. This event planned to accommodate 450 vehicles, estimating to double the volume of the Amherst event.

Because of the high volume of traffic at this event, Portage County Solid Waste announced it is working with its electronic recycler to host another event in the near future and it will share more information when those plans are finalized.

Residents can also take their items to the Portage County Transfer Facility, Express Recycling, Best Buy and Staples at any time, but fees may apply. Ben Franklin Junior High School also hosts an electronic recycling event each spring and fall, the release said.

The Portage County Transfer Facility accepts a variety of items year-round for certain fees per item and takes cash, check, Visa, Discover or Mastercard. You can find a list of accepted items on the Portage County website. Items accepted include garbage, electronics, batteries, lightbulbs, appliances, tires and more.

For more information about the Transfer Facility, visit co.portage.wi.gov/419/Transfer-Facility or find Portage County Solid Waste on Facebook.

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Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.

This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Electronic recycling event in Portage County saw unprecedented demand