E-Waste
E-Waste
Electronic waste (old computers, monitors, printers, televisions, stereo components, etc.) contain toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. To help keep these pollutants from entering the environment, the Southold Town Department of Solid Waste requires that e-waste be separated from your regular trash for special handling. At the transfer station, residents with e-waste will be directed to a designated drop-off area.Used cell phones drop off containers can be found at Town Hall and the Town Hall Annex.
Eligible Items
Covered electronic items under the new law include TVs, computers, monitors, printers, cell phones, fax machines, MP3 players, scanners, DVRs, cable and satellite receivers, video game consoles, and many other items. If you have any electronic items to dispose, bring them to the recycling area of the transfer station and leave it in the special e-waste containers.
E-Waste is accepted at the transfer station during normal business hours. Since 2007, Southold has collected nearly 1,000,000 pounds of electronic waste for safe disposal through this program. Please continue to help keep heavy metals from polluting our environment by disposing of e-waste safely and responsibly.
New Product Stewardship Law Allows for Free Disposal of E-Waste
The Cutchogue transfer station can accep used electronic equipment free for disposal due to a state law that requires electronics manufacturers to cover the recycling and / or disposal costs of such items, which require special handling due to the hazardous elements they contain. The concept, known as “Product Stewardship,” requires the makers of hazardous or hard-to-handle products to share the costs for managing them at the end of their life cycle, thus taking that expense off of local governments.The Town’s e-waste is managed by AHRC (Association for the Help for Retarded Children) of Nassau County, a DEC-registered recycler of electronic waste, to have collected items dismantled for shipment to recyclers and e-waste processors.