Ask Mr. Answer Person: VA clinic & microwave recycling

Mr. Answer Person has been getting a wide variety of questions lately. Here are the most recent questions:

"Anything new on the VA Clinic here in Decorah?" Jim Ripple

Funny you should ask! Mr. Answer Person has just talked with the VA officials in Iowa City about the planned outpatient clinic in Decorah. They said a decision on the location of the clinic--which originally had been promised for February--now will happen some time in April. That probably means it will be some time early in 2011 when the clinic opens its doors in Decorah.

"Microwave ovens are everywhere and there must be a lot of them that no longer work--one of them is in my kitchen, and I know friends who have one, even two, in their garages and sheds. I understand that at least some models of microwave ovens are considered toxic waste. What is the most environmentally safe way to recycle/dispose of a microwave oven in the Decorah area? Is there a place in the area that actually repairs microwaves so they don't just become trash?"--Charlie Langton

Microwave ovens and other appliances cannot be taken to the Winneshiek County Recycling Center in Freeport--instead they must be taken to the Winneshiek County Landfill. The landfill will charge you $18 per appliance to accept the unit, but once the microwave or other appliance is at the landfill, it will be stored until it can be picked up by Hawkeye Sanitation. The company will take it to a place where the metals are removed and the microwave is disposed of in an environmentally safe way.