Medford News Category

Southern Oregon Sanitation has launched its new website in order to improve communication with customers, and to offer the convenience of online services. This new site also includes the history of the company and information on its management team to familiarize customers and others with the Southern Oregon Sanitation story. With easy navigation through the site, people can find out what services are offered and where, while getting updates on holiday pickup, new services being offered and other news of value to those in the region.

The onset of technology and the increased use of computers in homes and offices created the problem of what to do with what is now termed ‘e-waste.’ For years, people threw their computers and components into the trash or dropped them off at the dump. But when left in the landfill or incinerated, these products became hazardous to the health of both people and the environment.

At present, computer monitors and televisions make up 40% of all lead and 70% of all heavy metals found in landfills. The goal is to significantly reduce these numbers.

In an effort to keep harmful contaminants out of the waste stream, recycling efforts at SOS are directing e-waste away from landfills. The company is working with the Oregon E-Cycles program to provide free recycling for computers, monitors and televisions.

To comply with Oregon’s Electronics Recycling Law, computers must be enclosed — without any disassembled parts. Monitors and television screens cannot be cracked. People can also recycle keyboards, printers, copiers, scanners, cell phones and other electronics and appliances for a fee.

To prevent a breach on recycled computers, erase all data prior to recycling using a downloadable disk-wiping program. These programs overwrite data on a drive and render it unrecoverable in most cases.

For information on E-cycling, call 541-479-5335.