North Shore Towers (NST) residents can now safely dispose of old and burnt-out electronics without leaving the building.
The new recycling program, e-cycling, is intended to easily and conveniently recycle electronics, which must be handled separately from traditional recycling.
The program, which was created through a public-private partnership between the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), made its first collection at NST, a Floral Park co-op.
“Everybody has something they want to get rid of,” said NST Board President Bob Ricken. “We’ve already sent several bins to be recycled. We’re filling them up like crazy.”
Buildings with at least 10 units can receive on-site pickup of stored electronic devices. Acceptable electronics include televisions, computers, printers, cell phones, video game consoles and hard drives. Electronic shredders permanently erase all of the devices’ data.
“It’s the stuff you really [have] to make sure is handled properly,” said Ron Gonen, DSNY deputy commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability. “The world is changing. A lot of what we do now is electronic, and that means our waste stream is changing significantly.” There are currently 51 sites citywide enrolled in the free e-cycling program.
“We’re sticking to our mission to be a greener facility,” said board member Mario Carmiciano. “We made a commitment a few years ago to start going as green as we can.”
Ricken credited new board member Maria Termini-Miller, a DSNY Deputy Commissioner, for getting NST to be a part of the program.
For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/ecycle.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
