If it ain’t working, recycle it. If everyone you know, including your 95-year-old grandmother, owns a phone and/or a computer, odds are they have contributed to the 70% of toxic electronic waste deposited in landfills around the world. Not just a planet pollutant, e-waste winds up in developing countries where fishing through hazardous materials for valuable metal parts is a regular life-threatening job for children and adults.
The Queens Botanical Garden and the The Lower East Side Ecology Center are helping to curb e-waste, at least until a newly passed law goes into effect on April 1, 2011 that will make it illegal for New Yorkers to throw out electronic items. On Sunday, January 9 from 10am-4pm, The Ecology Center (which is aiming to collect 100 tons of recycled electronics this month) will host its 8th annual “After the Holidays” event at QBG for responsible citizens with old or broken items to get rid of.
Read on after the jump for all acceptable gadgets, including computers, printers, keyboards, and cell phones.
Here is The Ecology Center’s complete list of things to bring this Sunday. For more information contact info@lesecologycenter.org
How to get there: By Bus: From the Bronx, Jamaica, or Flushing, Q44 or Q20 or By Train: No. 7 subway or Long Island Rail Road (Port Washington line) to Main Street/Flushing. Q44 or Q20 bus, or walk 8 blocks south to QBG. (43-50 Main St., Flushing, 718.886.3800, queensbotanical.org)
Photo: Courtesy of paolo pereira
The co-founder and editor-at-large at offMetro, Lauren is a sustainable travel specialist and freelance journalist with frequent bylines in National Geographic, Bicycling Magazine and Shape. Follow Lauren’s adventures at @laurenmati.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram