A program to keep electronic waste out of the Bartholomew County landfill is working, and compared to other communities it is still a bargain for local residents.

The county’s solid waste management district reached an agreement two years ago with Green Wave Computer Recycling in Greenwood to take all of the county’s e-waste at no cost. Ross Keller, education coordinator for the waste district, said landfills are mandated to keep the e-waste out of the dump. But in recent discussions with other landfills, local officials found that most facilities are being charged by their e-waste recovery companies.

Keller said that some districts are having to pay $40 per television to have them hauled away. He said the only e-waste that now costs the county to dispose of is old CRT computer monitors. The recycling center is working on plans to get rid of those, such as giving them away in the reuse center or sending customers back to retailers for disposal of those items.

He said retailers are required to take back the equivalent of 40 percent of the monitors they sell.

Keller gave the Bartholomew County Commissioners an update last week on the year-end achievements of the solid-waste district and the challenges ahead.