Montgomery County held an electronics recycling collection event in the Whitman parking lot Nov. 4. The county received donations from 503 cars.

The county’s Division of Solid Waste Services collected unwanted computers, televisions and other outdated electronic equipment. The items will be recycled or refurbished for reuse.

The event was part of the county’s goal to recycle 70 percent of all waste generated in an environmentally responsible manner, said county recycling coordinator Alan Pultyniewicz, who ran the event.

Because electronics cannot be placed on the street for curbside collection, the county sponsors four community collection events each year at various locations.

“It is important to us that we provide the service so we can get these materials out of people’s homes and out of the waste stream,” Pultyniewicz said.

Collectors then turned the material over to Creative Recycling, an electronics recycling contractor present at the event. Creative Recycling will separate out reusable plastic, glass and metal.

“We will then sell the stuff to companies that turn it into new products,” said Jim Kristof, vice president of procurement at Creative Recycling. “It’s cradle to cradle. We keep it out of the landfill so it can be reused.”

The county hopes the event will increase enthusiasm for recycling, Pultyniewicz said. Residents who donated were given the opportunity to fill out pledge cards in which they committed to learning more about recycling in the county.

“It’s a fun way to get people engaged in recycling and think about the importance of recycling,” Pultyniewicz said.

Residents who missed the event can drop materials off at the county’s Processing Facility and Transfer Station in Derwood. The next community recycling activity is a paper shredding event at Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center in Silver Spring Nov. 17.