Have you done your spring cleaning yet? If you have, odds are there are some items that are in need of disposal. Perhaps you still have the old microwave that reminds you of the first apartment you ever lived in or the stereo set your cousin gave you years ago - the one that never worked right because it was missing a speaker.

Home electronics similar to these must be disposed of properly.

Save the date. On Saturday, May 19, at the Natural Resource Center on County House Road in Auburn, there will be a Home Electronics Recycling Event.

From 9 a.m, to 1 p.m. volunteers will be collecting items including, but not limited to: stereos, DVD players, game systems (i.e. Nintendo), computers, propane tanks, microwaves, TVs, Ethernet connections and fluorescent bulbs up to 4 feet in length.

Television and computer monitors cost $5 each to dispose of, while large copiers will be collected at discretion for $10 a piece.

All other home electronics mentioned, and similar items, will be collected for free. This event is strictly for Cayuga County residents, no businesses please.

Rapid increases in technology are making electronics recycling a necessary part of our communities.

As our computers and other electronic items are replaced by newer models, we need to find uses and disposal sites that properly handle the old material.

The good news: glass, plastic and metal in many of our household electronic items can be recycled.

The bad news: there are environmental hazards associated with their improper disposal.

The importance of recycling home electronics by proper means cannot be stressed enough.

Computer monitors and TV screens have the potential to contain 4 to 8 pounds of lead.

These and other electronics contain toxic chemicals as well as mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals, which if improperly disposed of, can leach into the soil and ground water.

Lead can be especially damaging to the development of young children. In addition, propane tanks need to be processed and disposed of by trained professionals, to insure that all traces of the gas are removed in order to prevent explosions.

The annual Home Electronics Recycling Event is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, Cayuga County Department of Planning and Development, SWCD and Solid Waste Management Program Office.

Funding is provided by NUCOR Steel of Auburn and the NYS DEC.

For more information about the event, questions, or inquires about volunteering for this event, please contact CCE of Cayuga County at 255.1183.

Alexa Weigel-Krause is an Americorps environmental education assistant at Cornell Cooperative Extension of

Cayuga County.