Electronics can now be dropped off at special disposal sites in each borough. Those items can no longer be picked up during regular garbage collection under a state law that went into effect earlier this year. Ditching old computers, TVs and other electronics just got easier in New York City. Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia announced Friday that special waste drop-off sites in each borough will now accept e-waste on Saturdays as well as the last Friday of the month. City residents are barred from setting out their old electronics with the regular trash under an environmentally-minded state law that went into effect earlier this year. Officials said there has been an increase in the number of electronics being illegally dumped around the city in recent months. “We hope that the addition of electronics collection to special waste sites will provide an easy solution for residents to responsibly recycle their electronics,” said Garcia, who made the announcement with Councilman Steven Matteo in Staten Island

The special waste sites already accept latex paint, fluorescent bulbs and CFLs, motor oil, tires, alkaline and rechargeable batteries, and car batteries. City Council members Joseph Borelli, Steven Matteo, Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia and Sanitation Staten Island Borough Chief Stephen Montanino announced the changes. The five sites include: - Hunts Point at Farragut Street and the East River, next to the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx - Bensonhurst at 25th Avenue and Gravesend Bay, next to DSNY Brooklyn District 11 garage in Brooklyn - 74 Pike Slip between Cherry Street and South Street under the Manhattan Bridge in Manhattan - College Point at 30th Avenue, between 120th and 122nd Streets, at the northwest corner of the DSNY Queens District 7 garage in Queens - At the foot of Muldoon Avenue, off the Muldoon Avenue exit of the southbound West Shore Expressway, adjacent to the DSNY Staten Island District 3 garage in Staten Island For more information go to www.nyc.gov/sanitation.

Send a Letter to the Editor What is the recyclable item this week? A.  Please refer to the "Streamline" Update for the recycling schedule. A copy is mailed to every household in December and June. ac unit has leakStreamline can also be viewed and/or printed from this web site.how to tell the age of a carrier ac unit How do I get rid of bulk items (couches, chairs, refrigerators, etc.)?carrier rooftop air handling unit A.  You can schedule a pick up at the City Treasurer’s Office by phone at 315-255-4143 with payment of $10 for each item.  Items such as air conditioners that contain Freon gas are $45 per unit plus a $10 pick up fee. What do I do with yard waste and leaves? A.  The City of Auburn will pick up leaves and yard waste every Monday throughout the city.

This material must be bagged in recyclable brown paper bags or containerized and curbside by 7:00am each Monday morning for collection. Leaves may NOT be raked to the curb.  Please note there is no yard waste pick up if the Monday of the week is a holiday week as noted on the Streamline calendar. What is the schedule for Holiday weeks? A.  There will be no yard waste pickup during Holiday weeks.      Check the www.AuburnNY.gov/Streamline page for holiday week trash and recycling schedules Is there anything the City will not pick up at the curb? A.  The City does not collect garbage in black bags, cans that weigh in excess of 50 pounds, loose and /or uncontainerized garbage, or more than 5 cans/bags at any location. The crew threw my can away.   A.  Typically, we do not replace lost cans. On occasion, a can will be replaced if it is reported by the collection crew that they lost one in the garbage truck. If a can is in poor condition, has no handles or is broken in some way, it will be disposed of.

Cans (max. size 45 gallons) or bags of household garbage, may not weigh more than 75 pounds each. Place at curb prior to 6 AM on your regular collection day and no earlier than 7 PM the night before. Do not use cardboard boxes to contain refuse. The Sanitation Department's Homeowner Disposal Area, located at 1600 Merrick Road, Merrick is open Monday through Friday, from 9 AM to 3 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, from 8 AM to 3:30 PM, except Town of Hempstead observed holidays (Please see Holiday Collection Schedule for listing of holidays observed by the Town of Hempstead). All residents will be asked to provide proof of residency, such as a driver's license or a tax bill. The Homeowner Disposal Area is available to residents of unincorporated areas (except residents of Sanitation District 1) of the town. It is not available to residents of incorporated villages (except Hempstead and Freeport Villages). Materials must be brought in non-commercial vehicles. All vehicles towing trailers of any size will be required to pay commercial disposal rates.

Pickup trucks are to adhere to the following: must have a cap or be stacked no higher than the height and depth of the truck bed, and cannot have a tool box mounted to truck bed. Vans must adhere to the following: must have a backseat installed, side door with windows, no top racks, no interior doors separating driver area from cargo area, no shelving, mounted corkboards, etc. Waste acceptable for disposal includes appliances, batteries, metal, tires, furniture, dried-out latex paint (See S.T.O.P. Program for oil-based paints), recyclables, nonburnable items. Stone material: cement, concrete, bricks (no dirt will be accepted) and other masonry material are limited to two (2) 32-gallon buckets per trip. Compost: leaves, trees, grass, shrubs, etc. are limited to three (3) bags or two (2) 32-gallon buckets per trip. No medical waste or hazardous waste allowed. All Town of Hempstead residents, including residents of incorporated villages within the township, are permitted to bring electronic waste (E-Cycle items) to the Homeowner Disposal Area.

For all questions and concerns regarding our Homeowner Disposal Area, please call (516) 378-4210. Note: ALL cardboard and ALL plastics will now be recycled. Please DO NOT use cardboard boxes to contain refuse. See Stop Throwing Out Pollutants (S.T.O.P) Program. Automobile parts including vehicle frame parts, crankcases, transmissions, engines (drained), etc. will be accepted at the Homeowner Disposal Area or collected for metal recycling. Call (516) 378-8484 or (516) 378-4210, Option 2 for an appointment. These items may be delivered to the Homeowner Disposal Area (limit of five gallons of oil per visit). These items will not be collected at the curb. Per New York State law, waste oil may be brought to your local service station. Unwanted 20 lb. barbecue propane tanks will be accepted at the Homeowner Disposal Area. Please take the following precautions when transporting all tanks: Grass and leaves will be collected, separately, on Wednesday only (See exceptions under Yard Waste Collection Schedule below) for delivery to a composting facility.

Sanitation crews will collect up to 20 bags of grass or 30 bags of leaves per week. Each bag may not weigh more than 75 pounds each. Please do not rake leaves into the street. Tree stumps, logs and branches are to be tied together in a bundle approximately 2' x 2' x 4' in length and may not weigh more than 75 pounds. Please place at the curb. Yard Waste will be collected every Wednesday except for the following dates: Christmas trees, wreaths and yard waste will be collected: Residents are urged to take this opportunity to place out for pickup rubbish and other items you wish to discard (Exceptions to this include oil, car batteries, tires, construction debris, large furniture, large appliances, windows, yard waste or items containing Freon. See Special Pickup or S.T.O.P. Program for disposal of these items). All items should be tied or bundled and be no more than 2' x 2' x 4' and weigh no more than 75 pounds. Clean-up Day Collection will be held on: To request a Special Pickup along with specific disposal instructions, please call (516) 378-8484 or (516) 378-4210, Option 2.  

Special pickup items include appliances, bulky metal items, furniture, mattresses, etc. Items containing Freon are collected separately and oil storage tanks must be cleaned and cut in half. * Items containing Freon (collected separately). ** Cleaned and cut in half. ***Must be enclosed within a sealed, bedbug-proof bag. Glass should be taped to prevent shattering and possible injury to workers. To safeguard children, state law requires that refrigerator doors be removed. Convertible sofas must be tied and closed to avoid opening while handling. The list of items for special pickup collection includes but is not limited to: Oil Storage Tanks ** In the past few years, bedbugs have become a national health issue. These unwelcome guests are showing up in homes, hotels and businesses across the country. They latch onto backpacks, furniture and mostly mattresses. Like many other townships, the Town of Hempstead is not immune to this problem. Therefore, in an attempt to do our part to stop the spread of bedbugs, and to protect our personnel and community, the town has issued new collection practices in Sanitation Districts 3, 4 and 5 (Town of Hempstead Department of Sanitation.)

For purposes of this section, "Bedding" shall mean any mattress or box spring which can be used by any human being for sleeping or reclining purposes. (b) Any person disposing of bedding for collection shall enclose such bedding within one bedbug proof bag. Such bag shall be constructed in such a manner and be of such size as to readily contain the bedding to be disposed of. Such bag must be securely sealed after the bedding is placed inside. Heavy duty bags that new mattresses are delivered in may be used. However, the mattress must be completely sealed inside the bag. (c) Failure to enclose any bedding placed at the curbside or other designated areas for collection by the department (Special Collection) within a plastic bag pursuant to this section shall be deemed a violation of department regulations and Section 128 of the Town Code. The new regulation is very clear; if you are discarding any bedding, mattress or box spring, it must be in a bedbug proof encasement bag and completely sealed.