Recycle Old or Obsolete Electronics Devices with CRRA . . .
. . . and Clean Out Those Home File Cabinets, Too

State's Recycling Leader Adds Paper Shredding at its 10 Spring Collections

HARTFORD, Conn. – Now you can recycle more than just your old electronic devices with the state’s largest recycler. You can recycle those drawers and boxes full of old papers, canceled checks and other items with personal information that you want to get rid of but don’t want to put in the trash.

The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, Connecticut’s recycling leader, is now offering bulk paper shredding and recycling at its seven residential electronics collections scheduled this fall.

Since CRRA began its electronics recycling program in 1999, 45,036 families have delivered more than 5.3 million pounds of electronics.

But many residents, increasingly concerned with identity theft, asked CRRA how they could safely recycle their old papers.

“Over the last two or three years, many people have called and told us they just cleaned out their parents’ attic and have boxes of old paper to recycle but need it shredded,” explained Thomas P. Gaffey, CRRA’s head of recycling. “People need the peace of mind that personal information is safeguarded so we’re delighted to be able to offer this bulk shredding service, which will also save people the chore of running all that material through a small home paper shredder.”

CRRA has contracted with Cheshire-based SHRED-IT to provide this service. Residents of participating towns can bring SHRED-IT anything made of paper, especially items that could be used to steal an identity. Plastics must be removed before bringing the paper for recycling.

For electronics recycling, CRRA contracts with Eco International, the nation’s leader in electronics recycling, to keep these items out of the waste stream. At its facility in Vestal, N.Y., Eco dismantles items into raw materials, such as copper, steel, aluminum, glass and plastic, and sells them to firms who turn them into new products. Information about Eco International can be found at http://www.ecointernational.com/about.php .

The spring schedule:

• Saturday, April 3, in Madison, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hammonasset State Park, 1288 Boston Post Road (off Exit 62 of I-95). This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, April 10, in Watertown, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CRRATransfer Station, Echo Lake Road (about one-fourth of a mile west of Exit 37, Route 8). This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, April 17, in Essex, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CRRA Transfer Station, Town Dump Road (off Exit 4 of Route 9). This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, April 24, in West Hartford, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the West Hartford Town Yard, 17 Brixton Street. This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, May 8, in Enfield, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Stanley Jablonski Public Works Complex, 40 Moody Road. This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, May 15, in Hartford, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CRRA Trash Museum, 211 Murphy Road. This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, May 22, in Hamden, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hamden Middle School, 2623 Dixwell Avenue. This collection is for residents of Hamden, Meriden, Wallingford, North Haven and Cheshire only.
• Saturday, June 5, in Manchester, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Manchester Public Works Department, 321 Olcott Street. This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
  Saturday, June 12, in Harwinton, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Torrington Water Pollution Control Plant, 252 Bogue Road. This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.
• Saturday, June 19, in Essex, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CRRA Transfer Station, Town Dump Road (off Exit 4 of Route 9). This collection is for residents of Mid-Connecticut Project towns only.

Residents of southwest Connecticut towns should know that due to the expiration of the Bridgeport Project, CRRA no longer provides electronics recycling in or for the following cities and towns: Bethany, Bridgeport, Darien, East Haven, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Milford, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Orange, Shelton, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, Wilton and Woodbridge. Residents of these towns looking for suggestions on recycling their electronic devices should call their local public works department, their local electronics retailer or check the Resource Links page on CRRA’s Web site.

Those interested in participating should call their city or town public works departments or visit http://www.crra.org/pages/project_map.htm to see whether their towns are eligible and which collection will accept their recyclables. The schedule with links to locator maps for each collection site can be found on CRRA’s Web site.

The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority is a quasi-public agency whose mission is to work for – and in – the best interests of the municipalities of the state of Connecticut. CRRA’s new board of directors and new management team develop and implement environmentally sound solutions and best practices for solid waste disposal and recycling management on behalf of municipalities. CRRA serves more than 100 Connecticut cities and towns. CRRA also runs sustainability education programs through the Trash Museum in Hartford and Garbage Museum in Stratford. Computer users can also discuss CRRA at its blog, http://crra-blog.blogspot.com.

—30—