Ever wonder what to do with that old computer; television, cell phone or answering machine after its useful life is done? Residents used to throw these items out with regular trash, or store them hoping for a better, safer way to dispose of them. Well, thanks to the Town of Huntington these obsolete items can be recycled.

     "Plug-in To e-Cycling with the Town of Huntington" is a new program for recycling consumer electronic waste (E-waste). E-Cycling is refurbishing, repurposing and salvage of this waste after disposal. The Town operates a permanent e-Cycling drop-off site at the Huntington Recycling Center, 641 New York Ave., Huntington, New York. The site is open to Town residents from Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m..

     E-waste consists of: cell phones, stereos, copy machines, electronic typewriters, pagers, printers, laptops, keyboards, computer CPU’s, “Gameboys” and other electronic toys, PDA’s, mice, monitors, scanners, televisions, fax machines, calculators, DVD players, VCR’s, fax machines, cordless phones, answering machines, radios and all electronic peripherals.

E-Waste Facts

• Approximately 220 million tons of E-Waste is generated annually in the U.S.
• The average life span of a computer today is two years.
• Consumers have, on average, two or three obsolete computers in their garages, closets or storage spaces.
• According to the EPA, the volume of E-Waste is rising 3-5 percent each year - almost three times faster than the municipal waste stream.
• The average computer monitor or TV may contain up to 7lbs. of lead, as well as cadmium, mercury and chromium in its circuit boards. 
•  Recycling these products removes these toxins from our municipal waste stream.

How we Recycle E-waste

•  The Town has contracted with Supreme Computer and Electronic Recycling Inc., the largest and most widely used e-waste recycler on the east coast. Based in New Jersey they have received awards in environmental excellence from both State and Federal regulatory agencies. They are in full compliance with all current state and federal regulations.
• Supreme recycles e-waste by "demanufacturing" and "processing" these electronic items.
• Demanufacturing means that the computer is broken down into its constituent parts. These parts are then further broken down into pieces such as plastic housings, wires, metals and circuit boards. Demanufacturers then send these parts to smelters or processors that have the equipment and facilities to process these components safely.
• Processing is the practice of taking demanufactured electronic components and breaking them down to their raw materials. Processing may also include resource recovery procedures such as precious metal separation, lead smelting and waste-to-energy incineration. Processing is the last stage of recycling before final disposition.