The electronic waste (e-waste) recycling program run by the Lower East Side Ecology Center allows New York City residents to dispose of unwanted or broken electronics in an environmentally responsible way and this September and October they will be holding 17 e-waste recycling events in all five boroughs.

They accept electronics from households, small businesses (less than 50 employees, please call ahead) and not-for-profits. A list of acceptable recycling materials can be found here, as well as answers to other e-waste FAQs. They do not accept home appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators or air conditioners.

All events will be held rain or shine and will run 10am to 4pm (with the exception of the September 20th event which will run 11am to 7pm). Directions to the locations listed below can be found here.

BRONX

September 25, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
VAN CORTLANDT PARK – Broadway between Manhattan College Parkway and Post Road

BROOKLYN

September 24, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
FORT GREENE – Habana Outpost – Fulton Street between South Portland Avenue and South Oxford Street

October 01, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
CARROLL GARDENS – Smith Street between President and Union Streets

October 01, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
WILLIAMSBURG – The New New York, N 11th Street between Kent and Wythe Avenues

October 02, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK, Pier 1, Furman Street between Old Fulton and Doughty Streets

October 15, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
PARK SLOPE – 8th Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets

October 16, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
PARK SLOPE – 7th Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets

October 22, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
BED-STUY – Restoration Plaza, Herkimer Street entrance between New York and Brooklyn Avenues

October 23, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
COBBLE HILL – PS 29 Schoolyard, Baltic Street between Henry and Clinton Streets

MANHATTAN:

September 17, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
CHELSEA – Tekserve, 119 West 23rd Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)

September 18, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
LOWER EAST SIDE – Delancey Street between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets

September 20, 2011 | 11:00am – 7:00pm
UPPER EAST SIDE – Church of the Heavenly Rest, 5th Avenue and East 90th Street

October 22, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
UPPER WEST SIDE – Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Amsterdam Ave between West 96th and 97th Streets

October 23, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
STUYVESANT TOWN – 14th Street Loop, enter at 14th Street and Ave A

QUEENS

September 24, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
St. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY – parking lot, enter at Gate 4, Union Turnpike and 175th Street

September 25, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
NY HALL OF SCIENCE -  visitor parking lot, enter at 111th St. and 49th Ave.

STATEN ISLAND

October 02, 2011 | 10:00am – 4:00pm
SHOWPLACE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER – 141 E Service Road, enter at Victory Boulevard and Beresford Ave

The average New Yorker tosses 46 pounds of clothing and textiles in the trash each year, totaling 6% of our entire residential waste stream.  But with your help, landfills are going on a diet. More than 51,000 New Yorkers have helped NYC lose 1 million pounds by recycling unwanted clothing, linens, paired shoes, bags and more through GrowNYC’s textile recycling initiative.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why a textile recycling program?

5.7% of NYCs residential waste stream consists of textiles like clothing and towels. All told, New Yorkers discard 193,000 tons of textiles every year in NYC, at a cost to taxpayers and our environment.

Where and when can I recycle my textiles?

Textiles can be dropped off weekly at 8 select Greenmarkets: 97th Street, Union Square (Mon and Sat only), Grand Army Plaza, Fort Greene, McCarren Park, Inwood, Tompkins Square and Jackson Heights.

What items are accepted?

Our collections accept clean and dry clothing, paired shoes, bedding, linens, hats, handbags, belts, fabric scraps 36″ x 36″ or larger and other textiles.  We do not accept rugs or carpeting.

What happens to materials donated?

Materials are sorted into different grades including usable/non-usable, cotton scrap, cotton blend scrap and synthetics. These commodities are then sold for reuse as clothing, linens, etc or to recycling markets that turn materials into wiping rags, fiber for car seats and insulation.

Is my donation tax deductible?

Yes! Your contribution to the program directly benefits Council on the Environment, Inc. d/b/a GrowNYC.

What if I can’t make it to these collections?

If you are unable to attend our weekly collections, contact Wearable Collections at 646-515-4387 or info@wearablecollections.com to see if you are eligible for a home pick up. Better yet, visit www.WearableCollections.com to find out how to set up a textile recycling program in your apartment building!

Can my business bring items to the drop-off sites?

NYC law requires businesses to recycle textiles if they comprise more than 10% of the company’s total waste stream. Visit NYCWasteLess to find a vendor.

ONE-DAY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

MANHATTAN

Saturday, September 10, 12pm-4pm
Tucker Square Greenmarket
Columbus Ave at 66th St

Saturdays, September 17 & 24, 11am-4pm
Tribeca Greenmarket
Greenwich St b/t Chambers & Duane

Saturday, October 15, 11am-4pm
Abingdon Square Greenmarket
Hudson St & West 12th St

BRONX

Friday, October 28, 9am-2pm
Parkchester Greenmarket
Westchester Ave & White Plains Rd

Wednesday, November 2, 9am-3pm
New York Botanical Gardens Greenmarket
Mosholu Gate on Southern Blvd b/t Mosholu Pkwy & Bedford Pk Blvd

ONGOING WEEKLY COLLECTIONS

FRIDAYS

97th Street Greenmarket, 8am-2pm
W 97th & Columbus

SATURDAYS

Union Square Greenmarket, 8am-6pm
Union Square Park, North Plaza (17th St.)

Inwood Greenmarket, 8am-3pm
Isham St b/t Seaman & Cooper

Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, 8am-4pm
NW Entrance to Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Fort Greene Greenmarket, 8am-3pm
Washington Park at DeKalb

McCarren Park Greenmarket, 8am-2pm
Union b/t Driggs & N12th St, Greenpoint

SUNDAYS

Tompkins Square Greenmarket, 8am-4pm
E 7th & Avenue A

Jackson Heights Greenmarket, 8am-3pm
34th Ave b/t 77th & 78th Sts

MONDAYS

Union Square Greenmarket, 8am-6pm
Union Square Park, North Plaza (17th St.)

NOTE: Ask a market manager if you cannot locate the clothing drop-off.  All collections are year round but may be suspended due to major holidays or extremely inclement weather. Please call or visit our website for updated information.

Got a stash of old cellphones, video game players, cameras, e-Readers, laptops or other electronic devices cluttering up your space? If you do, then now is a great time to do some Spring cleaning & decluttering and get cash for your stash at the same time. Online companies like NextWorth and Gazelle make it easy and convenient for you to get additional value out of your used electronics equipment, while being environmentally responsible by keeping them out of the landfills.

Here’s how it works. Go to the website, list what you have to sell and receive back an offer. If you like the price you’re offered and accept it, you’ll receive a check, a Pay Pal credit card or a gift card and your electronics will be refurbished and resold or recycled. Warning: remove all of your personal data from any devices you sell before sending them on their way to new users.

Green gift bags are an idea whose time has come. (Click here if you want to read more about the eye-opening, negative impacts of paper gift wrap and disposable gift bags on the environment – AND ON YOU!) And when better to use green gift bags than at the holidays, which means right now.

Gift Bags Gone Green is a line of fabric gift bags created to help everyone take another step on the journey to “green”. The bags are washable, reusable, sustainable, time-saving and beautiful. They’re hand-sewn in the USA from a collection of fashionable vintage and remnant fabrics and there are five different lines in five different sizes to choose from. Use them to hold your own items or to wrap a gift; either way you are reducing waste and helping to save our planet. Gifts Bags Gone Green is happy to make custom, private label or special occasion bags (weddings, baby showers, birthdays) to fit your needs.

As an organizer, I love that you will be giving something that can and is meant to be regifted. That means less clutter, less waste and a great opportunity to help the environment. It’s a real win/win all around!

To honor its worthy mission, I would like to recommend Catalog Choice a free service that lets you reduce unwanted mail and choose how you hear from brands. Catalog Choice was started by three environmental groups – the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation and the Ecology Center, which runs Berkeley, California’s curbside recycling program – with the goal of reducing the negative impact on our natural resources caused by the mass mailing of catalogs.

So, if you have no need for paper phone books, want to opt out of receiving paper catalogs, stop pre-approved credit offers at home or unwanted mail at the office, register with Catalog Choice now.

Denim – known round the world as a symbol of American fashion – is actually a French import. The word comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called “serge”, originally made in Nîmes, France. Originally called “serge de Nîmes”, the name was soon shortened to denim. The contemporary use of the word “jeans” comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes), where the first denim trousers were made.

Denim was introduced to this country by Levi Strauss in the 1850s in the form of work pants designed for the mining industry and we’ve have had a longstanding love affair with denim ever since. Comfort, fashion and durability are all words that come to mind when we think of denim, but INSULATION? Not so much.

Since 2006, Cotton Inc. has taken 270,000 pieces of denim and using a multi-stage process recycled them into UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation for 540 Habit for Humanity houses. (FYI – it takes approximately 500 pair of jeans to insulate one average-size American house.) Cotton Inc.’s efforts have kept 200 tons of denim out of landfills and provided an essential building material at the same time. Now that’s how to recycle and reuse!

Denim insulation costs about ten percent more than standard fiberglass insulation, but it’s safer to install (non-itch, no carcinogens, formaldehyde or chemical irritants), better for the environment, more energy-efficient and acoustically it provides 30% better sound absorption than traditional fiberglass insulation. In addition, it’s one of the only insulating products that contains an active mold/mildew inhibitor.

It’s spring, so why not do a little spring cleaning, make some space in your closets and help the environment at the same time. Donate your no longer worn or loved denim jeans, skirts or jackets and join the the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® call-to-action to give old denim new life.

According to the E.P.A., electronic waste contributes 70% of the toxins found in landfills, while only contributing 1% of the volume of materials in landfills.  Electronic waste contains many toxic materials including lead, mercury, cadmium, phosphors and flame-retardants. Recycling your electronics waste decreases energy and water use, reduces pollution, and keeps hazardous chemicals out of our air and water.

A recently passed law makes it illegal for New York City residents to dispose of electronic items, starting July 1, 2010. If you have electronics you no longer use or need, you can dispose of them responsibly by participating in an upcoming electronic waste recycling event. These events are co-sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center and Earth Day NY.

What you can recycle (in working or non-working condition):

• Computers (laptops & desktops, servers, mainframes)
• Monitors
• Printers, scanners, fax-machines, copiers
• Network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
• Peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.)
• Components (hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, power supplies, etc.)
• TVs, VCRs, & DVD Players
• Audio-visual equipment
• Cell phones, pagers, PDAs
• Telecommunication (phones, answering machines, etc.)

PLEASE NOTE: no home appliances (microwaves or refrigerators) or electronics from businesses will be accepted.

LOCATIONS:

Brooklyn:
April 17, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
Habana Outpost, South Portland Avenue and Fulton Street, Ft. Greene

April 25, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
PS 29 School Yard, Baltic Street Between Henry and Clinton Streets, Cobble Hill

Manhattan:
March 28, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
Union Square, 17th Street and Broadway

April 10, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
Tekserve, 119 W 23rd Street, Chelsea

April 18, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
Morningside Park, Morningside Avenue between 113th and 114th Streets, Harlem

Queens:
April 11, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
Travers Park, 78th Street between Northern Blvd & 34th Ave., Jackson Heights

Roosevelt Island:
April 03, 2010 > 10:00am – 4:00pm
Roosevelt Island, Good Shepherd Plaza, 543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island

For more information, please visit the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s website.

Personally, I’m a big fan of sending environmentally friendly e-cards, but lots of people prefer to give and receive paper greeting cards. If you’re one of them and would like a way to recycle yours, then consider donating them to the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program St. Jude’s Ranch serves “abused, abandoned and neglected children and families, creating new chances, new choices and new hope in a safe, homelike environment.”

The children living at St. Jude’s help adult volunteers make beautiful, new, “green”, holiday and all-occasion greeting cards cards by removing the front and attaching a new back. The children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of “going green”. Proceeds from the sale of all cards benefit St. Jude’s.

Send your used holiday, Valentine’s Day, Birthday, Thank You cards now through February 28, 2010 to:

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

With all the wrapping paper left behind after holiday gifts have been opened, now is the perfect time to practice the three Rs of producing less waste – reduce, reuse and recycle. Instead of shoving it all into garbage bags and dumping it, here are some creative ways to reuse and recycle it and reduce your eco-footprint at the same time.

NOTE: To remove wrinkles, carefully iron the paper on the “wrong” side using LOW heat – spritz with a little water, if necessary. Remember to first remove any tape and smooth the paper out on a flat surface using your hands. Cut off any torn edges so you’re left with a square or rectangular piece.

• Crumple it up and stuff it in hats or purses to help them keep their shape.
• Wrap it around a bouquet of flowers you’re taking to someone special.
• Shred it to use as ‘fluff’ or pretty packing material in gift bags/boxes for future gifts.
• Shred and use it in place of bubble wrap or styrofoam packing peanuts.
• Cover a corkboard with it and hang it up for a festive, decorative place to leave messages and to-do lists.
• Go online and learn how to make origami shapes and animals with it!
• Cut a piece to size and slide it in the clear, front sleeve of a three-ring binder to create a decorative look.
• Cut it into small pieces and leave them by the telephone. Use the white side to write down messages.
• Measure your drawers, cabinets and closets. Cut the paper to fit and insert for simple, pretty shelf paper and draw liners.
• If it isn’t torn or too wrinkled, keep it to wrap future presents. Reuse paper taken from large gifts to wrap smaller gifts.

• Use it to decoupage pieces of furniture or flower pots or cardboard or wooden shapes to make decorations or ornaments for next year.

• Cover your kids’ textbooks – if you haven’t already – or recover if the old ones look like they’ve seen better days.
• Use it to make gift tags.
• Place a favorite piece underneath a sheet of glass on your desk, nightstand or coffee table to add color/pattern to the room.
• Mat photographs with it.
• Glue it onto a sturdy box for reusable gift packaging.
• Use small scraps to line greeting card envelopes. Trace the outside flap shape onto the paper and cut out. Leave it just short enough to clear the glue seal on the envelope flap.
• Use it for kids art projects, i.e. make paper dolls and dolls’ clothes.
• Make decorative snowflakes to hang up or to attach to blank cards to create this year’s thank you notes and next year’s holiday greetings.
• Make a collage out of various pieces and create new, unique wrapping paper.
• Frame your favorite pieces, hang them up and enjoy!
• Use it to wrap and protect your holiday decorations when storing them away for next year.
• Cover paper magazine or pencil holders with it.
• Use it for scrapbooking backgrounds.
• Use large pieces of it to cover shoeboxes and create pretty storage containers for Christmas ornaments and other items.
• Use it in paper mache projects.
• Cover small gift boxes with it.
• Make bookmarks out of it.
• Use it to make sewing patterns. Just draw the pattern pieces on the blank side and cut out.
• Add pattern and color to your office by covering a few select books on your bookshelves with it.
• Use it to line your cat’s litter box. It’s better than tossing it out!

As someone who helps people deal with too much “stuff” and not enough space for it all (FYI: it doesn’t matter how much space you have, you never have enough!), I can tell you that giving gifts that don’t clutter up the receiver’s space or life yet are creative, thoughtful and useful are the best kind you can give .

Here are some clutter-free suggestions for everyone on your holiday list. These will allow you to participate in and enjoy gift giving while at the same time relieving the burden on the recipient. Be sure not to give a well-intended gift that might be misunderstood and that ends up offending the recipient. For instance, if your sister doesn’t like or wear make-up, don’t give her a gift certificate for a make-up consultation. Ditto for other self-improvement services.

Memberships to:

* museums
* zoos
* botanical gardens
* aquariums
* historical societies
* theatre clubs
* state parks, county parks, etc.
* health clubs/gyms
* humane society
* nature conservancy
* AAA (Automobile Club of America)
* Zipcar (Cars parked around a city for members to drive by the hour instead of owning their own vehicles)

Gift Certificates for:

* massage
* facial
* their favorite hair salon
* manicure/pedicure
* health club
* exercise class
* spa
* local greenhouse, nursery or garden center
* bulb or seed catalog
* fun workshop or mini-course
* iTunes music download
* home improvement store to help with the cost of home maintenance
* computer software
* Blockbuster or Netflix
* Starbucks
* car washes
* trip in a helicopter or hot air balloon

Gifts of Service – Create your own voucher good for:

* babysitting
* breakfast in bed
* house cleaning or yard work or snow plowing/shoveling provided by you or someone you hire
* automobile maintenance (oil change, etc.)
* dishwashing for a day, a week, etc.
* running errands for a day, a week, etc.
* helping them with their next spring cleaning
* painting or hiring someone to paint that room they’ve been meaning to get to
* getting something of theirs that is broken repaired
* helping them plant their garden next spring
* helping them organize their photos

* teaching them a skill you have

Consumable Gifts:

* theatre, ballet, concert or symphony tickets
* tickets to an art exhibition or sporting event
* home cooked frozen meals
* homemade cookies, brownies, etc.
* an invitation to their favorite restaurant where you also give them the gift of your love and attention
* their favorite chocolates, wines or cheeses, etc.
* a selection of their favorite, hard-to-find, childhood candies or cookies
* a fruit of the month basket
* a voucher good for homemade meals for a day, a week, etc.
* a selection of organic teas and fair trade coffees or dried fruits and nuts
* dinner cooked by a personal chef
* tickets to a wine tasting or vineyard tour
* their favorite flowers sent to them regularly
* movie passes
* prepaid phone cards
* postage stamps
* frequent flyer miles
* airline tickets to visit you
* a weekend getaway at a bed and breakfast
* a trip to someplace they have never been
* candles
* handmade soap
* already stamped and addressed cards for various occasions (birthday, anniversary, holiday) that can be sent out to friends and family by the elderly or disabled in your life who can’t get out to buy cards or whose handwriting might be too shaky to read
* a voucher good for a walk together, a picnic together, a back-rub/foot-rub, a day of skiing or anything else you know they would like
* a voucher good for some of the perennials in your garden that are getting crowded and need dividing

One nice thing about consumables is that, if you’ve done your homework properly, the recipients consume them – which means you get to buy the same gift next year or even year after year!

Financial, Charitable and Unusual Gifts:

* make a charitable donation in their name (Think about causes and organizations that would be meaningful to them — then you take the tax deduction!)
* donate a book(s) to a library in their name
* pay their phone or cable bill for a month (or more)
* give them a share(s) of stock
* stocks, bonds, CDs, or contributions to a child’s college education fund
* name a star in the cosmos after them

* have a tree planted in their name

Gifts of Classes in:

* music
* dance
* Yoga
* Pilates
* self-defense
* foreign language
* computer
* magic
* continuing education
* art
* pottery
* photography
* jewelry making
* flower arranging
* knitting
* quilting
* sewing
* acting
* cooking
* stand-up comedy
* horseback riding