When the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Mission 66 began acquiring a large number of unusable televisions and computers, officials started looking for someone who could collect and dispose of them.

They had to look only as far away as Clinton.

Capt. Srikant Bhatnagar, who directs the Salvation Army’s efforts in Vicksburg, said one of his volunteers performed an Internet search, which led to Dave Inman and his company, Inman Industries in Clinton.

“We were on Craigslist,” said Inman’s partner, Chad Ramsey. “We had a listing that mentioned that we collected scrap and computers. Someone from the Salvation Army called me and I told them about Dave.”

Inman’s company has been in the recycling business since 2006, but has only been collecting electronics like televisions and computer monitors for the past two years.

“We’re working to keep the e-waste out of landfills,” he said.

E-waste is discarded, inoperative computers and office electronic equipment; entertainment electronics like TVs, MP3 players, video cameras and DVD players and old video game consoles; mobile phones, and appliances like refrigerators and microwave ovens. Many of these items, like computers and monitors, can contain hazardous materials like lead, cadmium, beryllium, or some flame retardant materials.

“We help anyone recycle or reuse any type of e-waste, appliances, or metal, on a case by case approach,” Inman said. “In regards to the Vicksburg Salvation Army, we have been able to pay them for the recyclable materials, pick them up and haul them off to be recycled.”

“He has been very helpful in removing the items,” Bhatnagar said. “When we have enough, we call him to come and get them. We’re hoping to have a bin at the store for the items, and people who have things like TVs or computers that don’t work can bring them to us to be collected.”

Whether he pays someone for their recyclables, Inman said, depends on how many items are collected and whether they have any resale value as scrap material.

“Sometimes, we are only able to collect a few things and none of them have any value,” he said. “We have been known to travel all over the U.S. buying precious metals, but most of the time we’ll go within a 250-mile radius (of Clinton).”

After Inman collects the items, he takes them back to his workshop at his home in Clinton to disassemble them for scrap, removing and separating materials like metals and plastics. The safe plastic items are taken to Clinton’s plastic recycling program. The metals and other items, such as TVs and computer monitor screens, are taken to a recycler and sold.

Because of the potential dangers from chemicals that might be in the monitors and other equipment, recyclers such as Inman have to be careful selecting the right company to deliver the electronics.

“Selling to the proper source is very important,” he said. “In this day and age, there are a lot of options to sell materials to, especially overseas companies, which the (Mississippi) Department of Environmental Quality frowns on.”

He said his company uses Magnolia Data Solutions in Jackson, a company that specializes in disposing, recycling and reselling electronics.

“Magnolia Data is a very good, reputable company,” Ramsey said. “They do a very good job.”

Currently, Inman said, his company’s income is generated by one section of his recycling business.

“At this point we have only been able to turn a profit from the metal items we get,” he said. “In time, things will get better.”

Besides Craigslist, Inman can be reached at 601-855-3102, and Ramsey at 601-850-8276. They also have a video on YouTube, titled “Mississippi’s Best Junk Demo.”