Dennis, ROM Recycling, picking up e-waste

By Sue Miller

I’m always curious to discover where our recycled items actually go. I was happy to discover that our county “e-waste” is picked up by ROM Recycling from Idaho Falls, and is a family operation, run by Dennis K. He comes and fills his trailer with all manner of things, including e-waste (computers, printers, flat screen tv’s, cell phones, DVD players), some of the fixable old appliances, as well as all batteries, from AAA to old car batteries, and even the broken Christmas light strings that contain valuable copper. 

ROM (more about the name later) has stops in Teton Valley including the Transfer Station, Teton Valley Hospital, and Ace Hardware; the company picks up e-waste throughout the region. Dennis also picks up other old and unwanted items including old hotel furniture to sell for reuse—he’s a true dedicated re-purposer and recycler!

This company is regulated by the Idaho DEQ, so the public can be assured that plastics aren’t being burned or toxic material dumped in the ground, etc., problems which occurred in China and southeast Asia when e-waste was sent there. In fact, Dennis will fix any items he can, such as old appliances, and sell them at his store. Everything else gets taken apart, divided up into parts such as circuit boards, and shipped to various buyers in Rocky Mountain states, including Idaho, Colorado, and Utah.

And the answer to what you were wondering: ROM stands for Recycle Old Material!