EPC is located at 3941 Harry S Truman Blvd. in St. Charles, with its 63,000-square-foot E-Scrap Processing Center in Earth City.  EPC, which has been in the personal computer business since 1984, also recycles monitors, printers, disk drives, personal computer systems and motherboards and other technology components if items cannot be repaired.

EPC has a zero-landfill policy.  If a system’s hard drive cannot be erased, it is shredded in order to protect any personal information.  Obsolete systems, monitors and printers are stripped for parts and demanufactured by hand into plastics, metals, etc., turning useless equipment into recyclable commodities.

Demanufacturing electronics is not considered a hazardous waste management activity, nor does it require resource recovery certification.  However, when cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are broken in order to recover scrap metal and glass, certification is required.  CRTs are found in color computer monitors and televisions.  If handled incorrectly, CRT recycling can produce hazardous wastes such as waste-leaded glass.

When handled correctly, CRTs can provide leaded glass, plastic, metal, circuit boards and other materials for recycling.  Properly recycling outdated electronics can promote the safe management of hazardous components and supports the recovery and reuse of valuable materials.  EPC, which voluntarily has requested the certification, currently stores CRTs and ships them to another company for recycling.

For more information on certified electronics demanufacturing, contact Richard Hock at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Hazardous Waste Program, PO Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176, or by phone at 573-751-3553 or 1-800-735-2966.

For news releases on the web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel.  For a complete listing of the department’s upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department’s online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.