By: Heewon Kim

Earlier this month, New York City announced it will be expanding a pilot curbside e-waste pick-up program into a permanent program in four boroughs. The pilot program started in Staten Island in October 2016, and in six months has already collected over 400,000 pounds of potentially hazardous e-waste that would otherwise have been sent to landfills.

The program serves residents of buildings with one to nine units, who can make an appointment through 311 or through the City’s website. Buildings with 10 or more units are already served by another curbside e-waste collection program, e-cycleNYC.

There has been a prohibition on placing e-waste, defined by ECL § 27-2601(6) as “covered electronic equipment that has been discarded or is no longer wanted by its owner,” out for solid waste or recycling collection in New York State since January 2015. However, complying with the law can be difficult for NYC residents in small buildings who want to dispose of e-waste, as they are not currently served by a curbside pickup program similar to e-cycleNYC.

The first expansion will be starting this fall in North Brooklyn. In the meantime, there are Drop-Off programs and events held by the Department of Sanitation and local organizations, and Take-Back and Mail-Back programs offered by retailers and manufacturers that NYC residents may use to dispose of e-waste.

For information about e-waste issues, please contact Michael Bogin or Maggie Macdonald.