It’s going to cost less to recycle TVs and computer monitors in one Southern Tier county. 

Steuben County unanimously approved to reduce the cost from $20 to $15 on Monday morning during its regular session. 

Before, New York State made manufacturers pay for the disposal of these items. 

“They (NYS) cap that every year, and so it’s a cost on the county taxpayers where we (the county) used to get money for that,” County Manager Jack Wheeler said. “Now, we have to pay. We pay about $40,000 dollars a year to dispose of computers, monitors, and televisions.”

On average, according to Public Works, each monitor and TV screen costs the county $29 a piece to send to a vendor to handle. County funds will still have to be used to cover the full cost, but the reduction slightly lightens the burden on residents.

Steuben County also wants to encourage residents to bring out their electronics, so it doesn’t end up on the side of the road or in a river. 

The electronics are accepted at transfer stations in Hornell, Wayland, Erwin, and the Bath Landfill. 

The landfill in Bath has the least volume when it comes to shipping out the materials which is about 10 palettes worth every three weeks. The transfer station in Erwin does double that.

The legislature meeting ended on a lighter note with the annual handing off of the fruitcake.

The tradition, dating back to 1991, consists of re-gifting the dessert that a former county employee received who did not like fruitcake.

The most recent owner, Mitch Alger, whose wife is expecting, thought it should have a personal flair on it by putting on what seems to look like baby underwear before handing it off. 

This year’s lucky recipient, personnel officer Nathan Alderman, is not sharing where he’ll hide it. 

“It’ll be in an undisclosed location just so that no one can tamper with it, but it will be very safe and very cold,” Alderman said. 

Alger’s father, Mark, was the one who started the tradition in ’91.