CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (RSWA) has opened up registration for Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and Scottsville households to dispose of their electronic products they need to throw away on Sept. 12.

“Our e-waste day is the only event we make you register for,” Westley Kern, Rivanna Solid Waste Authority spokesman, told Cville Right Now. “It is capped to 488 households, and we do this because there’s a pretty big demand for it in the area.”

“We want to make sure those who sign up for it have those services offered to them,” Kern said as the capacity is limited to what the contractor can process at the site.

The event itself is at the Ivy Solid Waste & Recycling Center, located at 4576 Dick Woods Road. and only those who’ve obtained a ticket will be admitted, so ticket holders must bring their ticket.

It is free of charge.

“A lot electronic components these days, especially when you get into computer systems or computer-controlled systems, have a lot of metals built into these products, some of which are not very friendly to the environment,” Kern said. “The one that comes to mind is mercury and a bunch of the soldered joints, so this collection event allows us to bring in these items from the community and make sure they’re disposed of responsibly.”

“We contract with a third-party vendor, and they go through and they actually break these components down into their individual material groups,” Kern explained. “So focused materials like mercury, CRT, glass in older computer monitors or old television sets, they’re removed from the components then disposed of properly.”

“The rest of the components, if they’re recyclable, are recycled or the metals are melted down, and they’re turned into new components or electronics or consumer goods.”

The free bi-annual event welcomes cell phones, tablets, computers, Plasma/LCD/LED screens, DVD players, VCRs, camcorders, stereos, printers, scanners, corded and cordless telephones, gaming systems, fax machines, adding machines, calculators, charging cables, and digital cameras.

In April’s event, RSWA received some 23,800 pounds of electronics.

Each registered household will be able to bring up to ten items.

They can bring up to two CRT displays, which are cathode ray tube-style TVs or computer monitors, and eight other items.

Or they can bring ten of the other described items.

The contractor used for this collection is MXI Environmental out of Abingdon, VA.

“They not only collect our electronics, but they’ll also help us out on our Household Hazardous Waste Day,” Kern said. “They’re permitted to come in an collect these unwanted items and ensure they’re disposed of… through the appropriate waste channels.”

There is no registration deadline, but Kern said the spots fill up fast.

If a household is not able to be among the first 488 to register, Kern said there is a waiting list they can be put on in case a spot opens up.