Responsible disposal of unwanted, outdated electronics has always been important. Now it is required! Beginning January 1, 2015, New York City Department of Sanitation regulations went into effect banning the disposal of electronics in the regular trash.

What to do? Come to the Annual “After the Holidays” Electronic Waste (e-waste) event at Queens Botanical Garden held in partnership with The Lower East Side Ecology Center. On Sunday, January 11, 2015 from 10am-4pm all residents, nonprofits and small businesses of Queens are invited to bring their unwanted or broken electronics, to dispose of them safely and free of charge. The event will take place in the QBG Parking Garden, located at 42-80 Crommelin Street, and will take place rain or shine. Tangles of broken holiday lights, computers, fax machines, cell phones, tablets, e-readers, televisions, cameras, stereo equipment – all are welcome. For a complete list of accepted materials, visit http://lesecologycenter.org/.

As a special thanks to recyclers, all participants on January 11 will have a chance to enter a free raffle to win a new MacBook Air and all participants will get a coupon good for $25 off a $100 purchase, courtesy of Tekserve, the generous sponsor of the e-waste collection event.

After dropping off your discards, visit QBG’s Education Building where from 1 to 3pm a workshop will demonstrate how to create crafts from recycled and repurposed items. All ages are welcome and the activity is offered free of charge.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, electronic waste constitutes just 1% of the volume of trash found in landfills but contributes 70% of the toxins found there. E-waste contains toxic materials such as lead, cadmium, mercury, phosphors and flame-retardants, which can be hazardous to human health and the environment. Depositing unwanted electronics at the e-waste event guarantees that materials are recycled conscientiously or disposed of in an environmentally responsible way. And because computers are wiped clean of data, privacy is also ensured. ‘)}