 Courtesy of Tekserve |
Whether you're a gadget glutton or minimalist, I'd wager you've got some sort of outdated electronic device stashed in a drawer, corroding away. What better time than spring to do a little e-cleaning?
Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., New Yorkers can take their old computers, telephones and cells, cameras, DVDs and VCRs, fax machines, and various other dust-collecting gizmos for recycling at Teckserve's retail store at 119 W. 23rd Street.
The Electronics Recyling Event is a tradition between Teckserve and the Lower East Side Ecology Center that began in 2007. In January, a similar occasion garnered a haul of nearly 25 tons of recyclable material. Learn more about tomorrow's event and see who’s planning to purge on Facebook.
Why recycle your e-waste rather than dump it in the regular garbage? Because "discarded electronics comprise 70 percent of heavy metal contamination in the nation’s landfills, a horrifying thought for anyone who worries about public health," writes Ellen Ruppel Shell's in "Trashed" [May-June 2008].
Of course, tomorrow's event isn't the only time or place you can recycle your wornout electronics. The EPA offers some suggestions here, including info on where to donate items that still have juice.
For more on the merits of recycling cell phones, read Michele Wilson's post from last spring.