Recycle Your Old Electronics This Sunday At The Flatbush Food Co-op

Have an old computer or TV that you’ve been meaning to get rid of? You can drop off your unwanted or broken electronics for environmentally safe disposal at Flatbush Food Co-op’s e-waste recycling event this Sunday, October 9, from 10am to 4pm.

Items that will be accepted during the event include working and non-working computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, audio/visual equipment, cell phones, tablets and e-readers, network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.), portable music players, hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, digital converter boxes, cable/satellite receivers, video games, PDAs, and telecommunication items (phones, answering machines, etc.)

Batteries are accepted but please separate alkaline and rechargeable batteries, and either tape the terminals of rechargeable batteries or pack them individually in plastic bags. You can also bring household batteries to any city Department of Sanitation Self-Help Special Waste Drop-Off Site.

Remember, it’s illegal to throw rechargeable batteries in the trash.

Items that cannot be accepted at Sunday’s recycling event include microwaves, refrigerators, air conditioners, ionization smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide detectors. To find out how to recycle those items, go here.

Recycling services will be provided by the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which notes on their website that it’s important to recycle electronics because, according to the federal government, electronic waste contributes 70 percent of the toxins found in landfills, while only making up 1 percent of the volume of materials in landfills. Electronic waste contains such toxic materials as lead, mercury, cadmium, phosphors, and flame retardants – which means recycling your electronics keeps hazardous chemicals out of our air and water.

Plus, New York state law made it illegal for residents to dispose of electronic items, as of January 1, 2015.

For more information about the event, go here or here.

Additional reporting by Anna Gustafson.