Electronic waste recycling begins

There's good news for the residents of Grand Island, who all have to comply with the New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1.

This new law prohibits trash companies from taking electronic waste items, effective immediately. The town has a drop off point for these materials at the Highway Garage, located at 1820 Whitehaven Road, and will be open to accept items Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They can accept televisions, computers, computer peripherals, small scale servers, monitors, electronic keyboards, and mice or similar pointing devices, fax machines, scanners, printers, VCRs, DVRs, portable digital music players, DVD players, digital converter boxes, cable or satellite receivers, electronic or video game consoles. Also accepted are cell phones, cash registers, PDAs, typewriters, digital cameras, telephones, and stereo equipment, etc.

The town has a contract with Regional Computer Recycling & Recovery, who will pay 8.6 cents per pound for materials recycled at the town site.

The Highway Garage cannot accept batteries, light bulbs, appliances, heaters, dehumidifiers, personal care appliances, paint or chemicals.

The goal of this law is to have proper recycling of unwanted electronic equipment, diverting thousands of pounds of waste from landfills and incinerators, keeping toxins such as lead, mercury and cadmium from potentially contaminating the air, water and soil, and conserving natural resources. For answers to any questions about acceptable items, visit the DEC's website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/66872.html or call the recycling hotline at 1-800-721-2208. Thank you for your cooperation.