How do we dispose of E-Waste?

Introduction

We all have that corner or box in our living spaces where electronics and used batteries go to only collect dust and leave us pondering – how can I dispose of all this? Proper and responsible disposal of e-waste is becoming a common household and workplace challenge as we navigate just how to live in an ever-changing and complex world of technology advancements. Many electronics contain harmful materials that most of us are not even aware of. 

At Tomorrow Lab, we collect a plethora of types of e-waste ranging from used batteries of all kinds, ink cartridges, old computers, electrical engineering items like wires and PCB boards, cables and small electronics. These items often get put in boxes and when the piles get big enough, we are left to handle the disposal. Since our move to the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center we have been contemplating potential solutions not just for us, but our building and community. 

Dear friends of Tomorrow Lab’s, Shelby Thompson of VoltPost and Nate Padgett of Informal proposed the idea of a community e-waste swap event – what a brilliant idea! We invited the NYC Hardware Meetup and Tomorrow Lab communities to bring their unwanted, but usable electronics and e-waste to swap for other items – and then the items that remain would get disposed of properly. It is a great opportunity to get together and discuss the challenges around this subject, discuss possible solutions, walk away with a fun new item and feel good knowing that the remainder of items are being taken care of responsibly! 

Saying Buh-Bye to E-waste! 

In planning for the swap event, we had to do some due diligence in finding a partner that would come and retrieve our unwanted items and also discard the items responsibly. 

What are our options for e-waste disposal in the NYC area? This really depends on the type of e-waste, however here are the options we were able to find: 

• NYC Department of Sanitation offers SAFE disposal events in each borough which happen throughout the year often on weekends from 10am-4pm. 
• DSNY also has permanent special waste drop off locations that are open every last Friday of the month and every Saturday from 10am-5pm. 
• On both of the DSNY site’s pages they list the types of items they will and will not accept. ‘Materials collected are either recycled, blended for fuel or sent to licensed hazardous waste treatment facilities for safe disposal. Electronics are recycled or refurbished for reuse through ERI (the Nation’s leading electronics recycling company),” the DSNY states on their website. 
• Another option is to drop off approved items at a retail or non-profit drop off site. Most Staples and Best Buy locations will take small e-waste items, and batteries! 
• NYC passed the NYS Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, which requires manufacturers of specific items to provide free pickup and recycling to consumers in NY State. Those who are able to take advantage of this offering include individual consumers, small companies with less than 50 employees and non profit organizations with less than 75 employees. If you have a large amount of e-waste from the same manufacturer – reach out to them! 
• Lastly, a third party e-waste recycler can be hired to pick up unwanted items. Each company will have their own requirements of items they allow (most do not pick up batteries) and will either pick up for a fee depending on quantity or if there is enough usable items, like computers they may pick up for free. 

We reached out to several third party companies in the NYC area and settled on partnering with Reboot Recycling! They were super communicative and understood what we are trying to achieve with both our business and community needs. Reboot offers several needed services, onsite pickup, dropoff at their New Jersey headquarters, secure data destruction and electronics recycling. “We are committed to responsible electronic waste disposal. All items we receive at our facility are property reculed in accordance with our landfill reduction pledge,” their website explains. 

Everything on these tables were usable items offered in the swap. Soldering equipment, 3D printers, track lights and streaming devices were hot ticket items. 

Our swap was a success! We were grateful to meet folks in our community who were able to find good homes for many items, like Queens College getting a 3D printer! I personally was able to find a new home for my old Google TV streamer and snag some brand new hot glue guns and a multimeter which will find their way to City College. We chatted about how all communities need resources and events like this – so we are looking forward to hosting another perhaps outdoors in the summer!

Here goes a bunch of monitors, cables, a dishwasher, an industrial blower and miscellaneous items on their way to recycled responsibly! Thank you to Alex and Reboot Recycling again! 

Finally, for a laugh and to further educate – check out John Wilson’s How To episode on Max ‘How to Throw Out Your Batteries.’ 

To find out what else goes on at Tomorrow Lab and the GMDC, check out our recent Studio Crawl and watch Potentially Genius on YouTube to get to know us and our process better!