Watch CBS News

Old Electronics Head For Recycling Bin At Department Of Sanitation Sites Across NYC

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If you have a bunch of old electronics taking up space in your home that you no longer use, New York City's Department of Sanitation now has Saturday drop-off points in all five boroughs.

In a far forlorn corner of College Point, Queens sits a trash heap of a not so distant media world. Electronics by the trunk load are dropped off at the E-cycle storage bin at the Department of Sanitation's 30th Avenue garage.

The state bans electronics containing hazardous components from going to the landfill.

"These are not the kinds of materials you want sitting in your landfills, leaching into the water," Marisa Adler with the Department of Sanitation told CBS2's Steve Langford.

The most prominent item from the pre-digital debris are huge TVs, to which most seem to wish good riddance, Langford reported.

"They're dinosaurs, they really are," one man said.

But it's the recycling of computers that prompts assurances from sanitation that sensitive content on your laptop won't go viral.

"They erase all the data so they can provide data security for their customers," said Adler.

The sites are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the last Friday of every month and every Saturday.

For more information, click here.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.