Recycle old TVs and other electronics for free Saturday at Syracuse DPW

David J. Valesky

February 2, 2015

By Tim Knauss on January 30, 2015 at 2:47 PM, updated January 30, 2015 at 3:23 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Central New York residents can get rid of old TVs, computers, phones and other electronic equipment for free at a recycling event 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Syracuse Department of Public Works, 1200 Canal St. Extension, off Midler Avenue.

Just drive into the DPW truck garage and volunteers will unload your unwanted items, said Jessica DeCerce, chief of staff for Sen. David Valesky, who is sponsoring the event together with Time Warner Cable and Sunnking Electronics Recycling.

There is no charge, and there is no limit to the number of items that can be dropped off, as long as they are acceptable for recycling. (Don't bring a fridge, a dehumidifier or a smashed-up tube TV). See the full list of acceptable items below.

Sunnking, of Rochester, has agreed to donate a portion of any proceeds from recycling the materials to the Food Bank of Central New York, DeCerce said.

A new state law that took effect Jan. 1 prohibits individuals from depositing TVs and certain other electronics at the curb for trash pickup. These items must now be recycled.

Participants at the event will probably notice a sprawling pile of junk TVs in the DPW yard as they pull up to the garage. City garbage trucks have picked up the TVs from city streets over the years, and they can no longer be recycled because most of them have broken glass or cracked plastic casing, which exposes the lead and other toxic items within.

City officials estimate it will cost $40,000 or more for the city to dispose of the TVs at a hazardous waste facility.

Cindy Jessop, of Sunnking, cautioned that broken cathode-ray-tube TVs will not be accepted at the recycling event if they have shattered glass fronts or cracked plastic casing. Dehumidifiers, air conditioners and mini-fridges also cannot be accepted because they contain Freon, she said. Old yard equipment with gasoline motors or other fluid containers also are unacceptable.

Other than those items, which require special handling, Sunnking recycles nearly anything that contains metal and plastic, Jessop said. "Get creative - we'll take anything with a cord or a circuit board,'' she said.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/recycle_old_tvs_and_other_electronics_for_free_saturday_at_syracuse_dpw.html