Residents of New York City have a great need for recycling electronic waste and the Lower East Side Ecology Center makes it easy for them to do so. The ecology center, founded in 1987, has been working for years to reduce all forms of waste and in 2003, they established the e-waste program where they host free e-waste drop-off events for communities around the city.
In 2010, New York State government implemented the Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, which eventually kept New Yorkers from disposing of their e-waste in trash cans. The Department of Sanitation began to extend services that helped New Yorkers comply with this act, but this help varied depending on location.
Because of this, some residents of the state have difficulties disposing of their e-waste, but the ecology center helps with this.
In 2021, the ecology center collected and recycled more than 500,000 pounds of e-wase from 46 collection events, according to the organization's annual report. The center's 2022 annual report has not yet been released, but the center collected about 12,000 pounds of e-waste from one event held in Bay Ridge, at the St. Anselm Church parking lot in late October from almost 250 families.
This event was co-sponsored and co-funded by City Council member, Justin Brannan. His chief of staff, Chris McCreight, said that these events are important for residents of Bay Ridge, and other neighboring communities because Bay Ridge only has two drop-off locations for e-waste-a Staples store and a Salvation Army Center.
Christine Datz-Romero, co-founder and executive director of the ecology center, explained that the organization received funds from the city to do an e-waste event 17 years ago. This funding was discontinued after a year, but she continued to have e-waste disposal events because she felt that there was still a great need for recycling services in the city.
“…We really felt that there was a tremendous need for [our] recycling. And so, we actually
raised private funding from New York Community Trust, to continue our program and also
started working with other non-profits, especially with [the Natural Resources Defense Council] to really think about a bigger picture of e-waste recycling,” said Datz-Romero.
While at the St. Anslem church parking lot, some Bay Ridge residents expressed the need for more recycling events.
Eldi Garcia, a Bay Ridge resident, stopped by the event to drop off an old television that he no longer had space for in his apartment. Garcia said he's appreciative that the ecology center hosts free events because some places charge him to accept his recyclables.
“If I take [the television] to a Best Buy, I'd have to pay $25. That's $25 I can use to pay a light bill,” said Garcia. According to Best Buy's website, they charge a $29.99 fee for portable televisions, tube televisions smaller than 32 inches, and flat panel televisions smaller than 50 inches.
Chris Ferretti, another Bay Ridge resident who dropped off a broken monitor at the event, said he wishes the ecology center held more events in Bay Ridge.
“[They] should do it like every quarter,” said Ferretti. “People have plans, and they can't [always] get here to do stuff.”
According to the city's data, Brooklyn has 18 locations that can be used to drop off e-waste. Most of the areas in Brooklyn only have one or two places for e-waste to be dropped off. The zip code area 11217, or Fort Greene, is the only area in Brooklyn that has 3 drop-off locations, according to data published by the city of New York.
Staten Island is the only borough where people in residential homes have the opportunity to have their e-waste picked up by the city. In other boroughs, residents can visit Solvent, Automotive, Flammables, and Electronics (SAFE) events hosted by the city's sanitation department during the Spring and Fall seasons.
Some residential units with 10 or more units have the option to have their recyclables picked up, but only if the unit is enrolled in the city's recycling program.
So, the director of the ecology center understands residents' want for more events, however, the organization hosts almost 50 events a year in other parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.
“I think it's hard to deliver something like this because at a certain point… if you go here, every month, it wouldn't be that many people that showed up,” said Datz-Romero. “You want to strike this balance, or you also want to come to places where it's worth your while coming because when you have good participation, you can fill a truck.”
At the end of the event, a truckload of e-waste is taken to appropriate facilities where they are completely shredded. In previous years, some of the collected products were taken to a warehouse in Gowanus, which the center owned, and it served as a craft library. However, the location was closed in 2020 and most products received now get fully destroyed.
“We ideally would like to raise enough money to get a permanent drop-off location again,” said Datz-Romero.
Datz-Romero understands the need New Yorkers have to recycle their e-waste, but she says the center can only do so much. She implores New Yorkers in need to research other ways to dispose of their e-waste until she can find a way to bring more e-waste disposal events to other communities.