HRRA Recycles Day Sept 23 In Danbury

DANBURY — The Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA) invites residents of Newtown and other HRRA-member towns to bring old computer equipment, televisions, stereos, and VCRs to the recycles day collection on Saturday, September 23, from 11 am to 3 pm, on Old Plumtrees Road in Danbury.

The HRRA and the city of Danbury also will be showcasing the “Earth to Kids: What You Do Is Up To You” mobile environmental educational van at the collection point opposite the Danbury Water Treatment facility and just north of the state’s vehicle emissions testing station off Plumtrees Road.

The 36-foot-long mobile educational van has exhibits and demonstrations on solid waste and recycling, water and energy conservation, and ground water contamination. It is available to area schools and after-school programs in the HRRA member towns of Bethel, Brookfield, Bridgewater, Danbury, Kent, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield, and Sherman.

Recycling day is sponsored by HRRA, the Danbury mayor’s office, and 60 regional businesses. It is part of the national observance of the fourth annual America Recycles Day, which will be held on November 15.

The free recycling service is part of a national effort to deal with the ever-growing volume of electronics trash that is entering landfills and incinerators. These materials contain hazardous waste in the form of leaded glass from computer monitors and televisions. Materials such as cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel, zinc, silver, and gold are found in printed circuit boards. Cadmium may be contained in batteries and mercury in relays and switches. Electronics recyclers disassemble this equipment into various component parts, which can be reused in new products or recycled for their useful material.

Approximately 200 tons of electronics have been collected and recycled from one-day events and permanent drop-off points in Connecticut in the last two years. Some states have begun to regulate the disposal of household electronics, including Massachusetts, where a disposal ban on computer monitors and televisions went into effect last April.

From September 15 to November 20 this year Connecticut residents will again be able to submit recycling pledges at events, through the mail, or online at www.americarecyclesday.org. As an incentive, prizes will be awarded on both the national and state levels for pledge cards selected at random. The grand prize will again be an American Green Dream House, a three-bedroom home valued at $200,000 and built primarily with recycled-content products and materials.

Among the Connecticut prizes will be ice cream parties for an elementary, middle, and high school that wins the Green School Contest. There also are Connecticut prizes for individuals.

For more information on recycling day visit the HRRA Web site at www.hrra.org or call the HRRA at 775-6256. More information on America Recycles Day is available at www.americarecyclesday.org.