The VHA electronic recycling event has become so popular that Saturday’s collection was to say the least, overwhelming.
The event had been scheduled to run until 2 p.m. on Saturday but shut down at 12:30 p.m. because the trucks to haul the electronics away had reached capacity.
“We apologize to all the people who tried to bring electronics after 12:30,” said Fred Briggs, president of The VHA. Briggs said that people who had already waited in line were upset and angry when told they would not be able to drop off their electronics.
“We planned for one and a half times the amount as last year and we reached that by noon,” said Briggs. As soon as they anticipated shutting down they contacted WGAL to try and get the word out. The first electronic drive was in 2015. “We started it as a service because neighbors kept asking VHA members what to do with this stuff,” said Briggs. In 2015 and 2016 combined they did 90,000 pounds. Briggs is estimating they were over 70,000 pounds of electronics today by noon. They filled two tractor trailers and an over-size box truck.
No count was kept of the number that went through the drive-thru line, but Briggs said that he knew people were out as early as 7 a.m. for an event that started at 9 a.m.We did 100 cars before the official start time.
“Usually we do this once a year, but because of the response today, we are going to look at having one this summer.” They are also going to be looking at having a better traffic flow.
For those not wanting to wait until the summer he suggested contacting Lake or Sumter County. Briggs said that both counties have places you can take your electronics.
