New York City has begun e-scrap collection at a handful of apartment buildings in the five boroughs.
The effort, launched Sept. 23, represents a significant step for the city’s e-cycleNYC program, which was announced in May and aims to eventually make electronics recycling as simple as a walk down the hall for hundreds of thousands of Gotham apartment dwellers.
Fifteen buildings have opted in for the launch of the service. Residents in those locations can bring their end-of-life electronics to a bin or collection room within the building, and the products are later handled by Electronics Recyclers International (ERI).
ERI is initially transporting the material to its facility in Holliston, Massachusetts, but the company’s president and CEO, John Shegerian, said the business is set to announce construction of a processing location within the New York metropolitan area. The details of the operation should be coming out within the next month.
“The city was not set up for recycling originally,” said Shegerian. “[Manhattan] is an island so it’s a tough cookie. To be part of the creative process to figure it all out is an honor, a privilege and exciting.”
Shegerian added that recycling officials from around the world are keeping a close eye on how the New York effort unfolds as they aim to develop solutions for their own municipalities. “It’s become a fascinating issue both politically and socially,” he said. “Every city wants and needs solutions now.”
