Items Collected from Public and from County Employees Prevents 584 Pounds of Lead from Potentially Entering Waste Stream

The first Suffolk-sponsored electronic waste recycling event – held over the course of two days at the end of April – resulted in the collection of more than 27,000 pounds of old computers, monitors, phones, pagers, copiers, fax machines, televisions and stereos, announced County Executive Steve Levy.

“These collection numbers show that residents have been aware that they should not be disposing of their old electronics through regular trash collection, but have lacked a safe and environmentally friendly alternative until now,” Levy said.

“I am thrilled that the County’s first e-waste recycling days have been so incredibly successful,” stated Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), the author of Suffolk’s 2006 landmark e-waste recycling law. “The health and well-being of Suffolk residents will dramatically improve as we recycle more and more obsolete equipment in a safe and responsible manner. We should all be proud of the work we have done together to lessen the impact of toxic waste on our environment.”

Under a contract between Suffolk and e-Green Management, LLC, the Central Islip firm is hosting five public drop-off dates at locations throughout Suffolk; the first was held April 25 in Hauppauge, and preceded by a collection day for county employees.

At the Saturday public event, 22,274 pounds of e-waste was collected, while the employee collection day yielded 5,351 pounds. Included in those totals were 56 computer monitors and 17 televisions – which can contain as much as eight pounds of lead each.

Other e-waste collection days have been scheduled for:

Saturday, May 30: Riverhead County Center
Saturday, June 27: Central Islip Court Complex
Saturday, July 25: Gabreski Airport, Westhampton
Saturday, September 12: Bergen Point, Babylon

Electronic materials will be accepted at the drop-off days free of charge, with the exception of computer monitors and televisions under 32” which carry a $10 charge, and batteries which are collected at a per-pound fee. Under the county contract, Suffolk residents may also drop off their unwanted electronics at the e-Green facilty at 160 Wilbur Drive in Bohemia during business hours.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, more than 2.9 million pounds of electronic waste was generated in this country in 2006 – with only about 330,000 tons, or 11 percent, of that waste recycled, and the rest dumped in landfills, incinerated or stored in consumers’ homes.

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