Volunteers load pallets and boxes with recycled electronics at a free e-waste recycling event on September 12 at the GM Tonawanda Engine Plant location on River Road. Nearly 65,000 lbs. of computer monitors, televisions, printers, and other types of electronic waste were collected at the four-hour event as 454 cars were unloaded.

Partnership Among Erie County, GM, Advanced Technology Recycling Nets 64,922 Lbs. 

ERIE COUNTY, NY—The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning (“DEP”),  in conjunction with the GM Tonawanda Engine Plant and Advanced Technology Recycling (“ATR”), has announced that over 32 tons of electronic waste (“e-waste”) was collected at a September 12 recycling event held at the GM Tonawanda Engine Plant. DEP has partnered with the GM Tonawanda Engine Plant on these no-cost collection events for the past eight years, and despite rainy weather this year, 454 cars were served at the four-hour collection event.

“E-waste collection events such as this have proven to be a good way to help residents protect the environment by preventing old computers, televisions, and other types of electronic devices from reaching landfills or being incinerated,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “I want to thank the Erie County DEP and their partners for once again providing this vital service to our community.”

“The environment is very important to all employees at Tonawanda Engine Plant as well as General Motors,” said Plant Manager Steve Finch. “We have partnered with Erie County on these recycling events for several years now and have prevented hundreds of tons of electronic waste from going into landfills. This is important to us as Tonawanda Engine has been a landfill free manufacturing site since 2007 and we do everything we can to recycle and reuse manufacturing waste.”

“ATR thanks everyone at GM and Erie County for the planning, participation, site use, and all the other effort that went into making this event a success,” said ATR Business Development Manager Randy Coons. “We appreciate the great collective effort that made this electronics recycling event possible.”

The volunteer effort at the event included representatives from each partner agency, helping to unload electronics from over 100 vehicles per hour. Electronic items accepted at the event included computers, printers, monitors, televisions, VCRs, radios, stereo equipment, cell phones, CDROM/floppy discs, digital cameras, scanners, fax machines, DVD players, cable/satellite receivers, circuit boards, and video game systems.

For more information:

On the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning, visit http://www2.erie.gov/environment/