Waste Management, Dumpster, Recycling Blog | Eric Z Disposal

About Electronics Recycling

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:54:20 +0000

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

Toronto Garbage Strike Leaves City With Waste Management Mess

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:52:28 +0000

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

Danvers, MA ‘trash rage’ over weight rules

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:01:02 +0000

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)

Dumpster Swimming Pool, Lo-Fi Country Club

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:05:13 +0000

Can’t say we’ve used our dumpster rental service for these types of things. It’s lined with plastic and uses a filtering system – so it actually isn’t gross. Macro-Sea, a design firm in New York, made a dumpster swimming pool along with other “lo-fi” country club items. They found a developer who’d let them use the space, had dumpsters donated from a construction company (thanks to the economic downturn), and created a space that’s been promoted through art organizations in the area. It’s an invite-only deal at this point, but it’s a great way to think about reusing materials.

There were finer details involved, link filing down sharp edges in the dumpster and lining the bottom with sand to create a smooth bottom. The dumpster pools are insured and the “country club” has hosted photo shoots and lectures among other events.

Source: New York Times

Roll-Off Container Full of Watermelons

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:31:57 +0000

So it looks like someone else found more food in a roll-off container. This time instead of fortune cookies it’s watermelons. What a waste of food. The roll-off container looks pretty rusted too. That’s too bad.

Source: Boing Boing