Demolition by ameteurs gone bad! First wall takes out a car (owned by Lawyer), second wall takes out everything else.

The Natural Choice.

Unwanted consumer electronics - cell and smart phones, computers and monitors, televisions, DVD and MP3 players, pagers, PDAs and other devices - are the fastest-growing category of waste in Massachusetts.  Until recently, Bay Staters were discarding more than 900,000 units annually on average, but that number has increased due to the federally-mandated transition to digital television broadcasting.  If you own an analog TV, there is no need to replace it right away.  You can extend its useful life by purchasing a digital converter box.

When you do have a television or any other unwanted electronics to discard, remember that still useful items can be donated to others.  Non-working electronics should be recycled to prevent lead, mercury and other toxics they contain from posing health and environmental risks after disposal.  Some electronics - the cathode ray tubes (CRTs) found in most computer and television screens pre-dating flat panels - are banned from Massachusetts landfills and combustion facilities.

Source: MassDEP

Canada’s largest city has had a garbage strike for the last 5 weeks resulting in garbage piling up on streets, in dumpsters, in front of stores, everywhere. Labor unions requested wage increases for garbage workers to match the increases of other municipal workers, but were denied. 24,000 out of 30,000 workers have been off the job since June 22, 2009, but the garbage collectors’ absense has made cause the largest notice.

The city of Toronto held out for longer than anyone thought, designating parks and lots as temporary “landfills” for the garbage. The city and labor union have finally come to an agreement and the garbage pickups will resume July 31, 2009.

Toronto Garbage Strike – Week 3

According to a WBZ4 story, a Danvers man was upset with trash collectors after they wouldn’t take one of his trash containers since it was overweight. After some verbal abuse, he followed the trash collectors in his minivan around their route and tried to run them down. He was finally arrested after the trash collectors called the Danvers Police. 50 pounds is the maximum weight for a trash container in the town of Danvers, MA. See below for Danvers’ trash and recycling rules.

Putting weight on the amount of trash residents put out is nothing new. There are similar trash restrictions in Salem, MA.

Download the Danvers Trash and Recycling Rules (PDF)