Hundreds of people turn to Pittsburgh-area event collecting hard-to-recycle items

PITTSBURGH — You can’t leave old televisions, computers and tires on your curb, so we had a solution.

WPXI partnered with the Pennsylvania Resources Council and Allegheny County Health Department for a Hard to Recycle Collection on Saturday, May 11, at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills.

PHOTOS: Hundreds of people dispose of hard-to-recycle items during 11 Cares collection event

“We want to try to bring convenient and responsible recycling opportunities to residents of Allegheny County and southwestern Pennsylvania,” Sarah Shea, Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Resources Council said.

For a fee, folks could get rid of hard-to-recycle items like televisions, tires and small electronics.

“Everybody has these hard-to-recycle items sitting around their house, and maybe they contemplate going out back and smashing them and doing whatever they need to do to put them in a garbage bag to get rid of them. That’s unsafe for the environment, so events like this are exactly what we need in our region,” Lisa Florian, President and CEO of Clearview Federal Credit Union and 11 Cares Sponsor said.

“It’s amazing,” Brad Trust, Chief Production Officer and Edgar Snyder & Associates owner and 11 Cares Sponso said. “Cars are wrapped around the corner here. It’s great to see all of these people here getting rid of things that would end up in places we wouldn’t want them to.”

Organizers say 600 people registered for Saturday’s event. Drivers checked in with volunteers and then circled the parking lot, where even more volunteers unloaded their vehicles.

Our 11 Cares Sponsors say it’s a great event to participate in.

“Sustainability is such a big part of our mission and value,” Judy Sapos, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility and Partnerships at Highmark Wholecare said. We know that taking care of our communities and keeping them clean has a great impact on the health of our members, so we’re thrilled to be out here today volunteering and supporting.”

“Our employees volunteer more than 4,000 hours every year, and we understand that being responsible for the environment is so important as the electricity provider for the region, so events like this are a perfect fit for us,” Kristen Wishon, Brand Manager at Duquesne Light said.

An estimated 60,000 pounds of materials were collected at the event. For details on the next event, visit the Pennsylvania Resources Council’s website.

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