New York City residents on Staten Island lost the option to have their scrap electronics picked up curbside after the mayor made large-scale budget cuts.
Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement that the cuts are due to the rising costs of the migrant crisis, slowing tax revenues and the loss of federal pandemic aid. Police, library and education services were also reduced under the cuts, and a curbside composting rollout in the Bronx and Staten Island was put on hold.
According to local news reports, a spokesperson for the Department of Sanitation said the electronics, batteries and textiles pick-up program, which has been running since 2016, was suspended after Oct. 27 because of financial constraints. The program was also paused during the pandemic.
Councilman David Carr called the suspension of the program “shortsighted and, frankly, a slap in the face to my constituents.”
“The eWaste curbside pickup program, which my predecessor started and I fought to fund each year, is not just a convenience,” he said. “It’s an essential program that helps Islanders – many of whom are poor, elderly and disabled – to properly dispose of electronics and ensure hazardous materials don’t wind up dumped in our parks or environmentally sensitive areas.”
There are still e-scrap drop-off sites available to New York City residents.
A version of this story appeared in E-scrap News on Nov. 29.
