Get Rid of Your Old TVs and Computers at Recycling Event in Forest Park Sunday

Image credit: George Hotelling – Creative Commons

April 27, 2021 By Christina Santucci

Several Queens elected officials are partnering with the Lower East Side Ecology Center to collect and recycle unwanted electronics this weekend at Forest Park.

The event will take place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Forest Park Bandshell Parking Lot, and is being co-hosted by State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr., Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar and Councilmember Bob Holden – as well as Community Board 10.

Addabbo started the bi-annual electronics collection – one in the spring and one in the fall – in 2010 and it has grown in popularity. The events provide the public with an opportunity to get rid of their old TVs and computers with ease—since it is illegal to throw them out in the regular trash and recycling.

“This e-waste recycling event is one of these most popular events that we put together for the community each year,” Addabbo said in a statement. “This event gives our constituents the chance to properly and safely recycle their electronics right in their own neighborhood.”

Last year’s springtime e-waste collection was cancelled because of the pandemic. However, the 2020 fall event took place, and organizers tallied people in more than 400 cars getting rid of their electronics.

Those dropping off items this weekend are required to wear masks and are asked to stay in their vehicles as much as possible. Electronics should be placed in the backseat or trunk – so that they can be easily removed by volunteers.

Anyone who gets out of their vehicle must have their temperature checked, fill out a visitor health screening questionnaire and provide their information for possible contact tracing.

Electronics that will be accepted during the event are:

Computers (laptops & desktops, servers, mainframes)
Monitors (CRT and flat screen)
Handheld devices (smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, e-readers, etc.)
Network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
Peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, cords, chargers, etc.)
Components (hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, power supplies, etc.)
Printers under 50 pounds, scanners, fax-machines, etc.
TVs, VCRs, DVRs, DVD & Blu-ray Players
Digital Converter Boxes, Cable/Satellite Receivers
Audio-visual equipment (cameras, microphones, etc.)
Video-game consoles and accessories
Cell phones, pagers, PDAs

Items that will NOT be accepted are:

Batteries of any kind
Floppy disks/VHS tapes/CDs/DVDs/cassette tapes
Stereo equipment
Landline phones/answering machines
Extension cords
Smoke detectors
Any hazardous materials or paint
Household appliances

Previously, the event also included paper shredding for unwanted documents, but last year, organizers opted to hold that portion on a separate day. They now plan to keep the events separate going forward.

On April 25, Addabbo and Rajkumar held this spring’s shredding event, and people in about 100 vehicles came to Forest Park to securely destroy personal documents and donate goods for the veterans.

For more information about the e-waste collection, contact Addabbo’s office at 718-738-1111 or the LES Ecology Center at 212-477-4022.