Free Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding Event at Community Center Saturday, Oct. 14

The Township of Livingston’s next free Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding Event is on Saturday, October 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Livingston Senior/Community Center, 204 Hillside Avenue. This will be the last such event for 2023; the next event will be held in April 2024.
“This is a great event that offers residents drive-through service to safely dispose of their unwanted electronics and to have their confidential papers shredded,” said Livingston Mayor Michael Vieira. 
Volunteers will be stationed on site to guide residents to the correct location in the rear and side parking lots, depending upon the types of items to be recycled. We ask everyone to drive slowly through the parking lot. Residents are reminded to follow the directions of any volunteer wearing a safety vest.
Under New Jersey state law and the township’s recycling ordinance, it is mandatory to recycle electronic items. Electronic items cannot be placed at the curb for pickup – the garbage and recycling collection trucks will not take them. 
Electronics Recycling
The following items will be accepted for electronic and small appliance recycling:
• Cellular Telephones (erase hard drive/memory)
• Computers and Components (erase hard drive/memory)
• Copiers
• DVD Players
• Electronic Games
• Fax Machines
• Keyboards
• Laptops
• Monitors/Flat Screens (no TVs or screens accepted with broken glass or sharp edges will be accepted)
• Pagers
• PDAs
• Portable Electronic Music Devices
• Printers
• Radios
• Scanners
• Stereos
• Telecom Equipment
• Televisions (no TVs or screens accepted with broken glass or sharp edges will be accepted)
• Typewriters (electric)
• USP and Other Cables
• VCRs
The recycling company will provide personnel at the event to remove electronic items from each resident’s vehicle; residents are asked to remain inside their cars for safety reasons. 
Electronic items will be accepted whether they are working or not. However, for safety reasons, TV screens or monitors with broken glass or other sharp edges will not be accepted. Those items must be brought to one of Essex County’s Household Hazardous Waste Disposal days; visit ecuanj.com for more information. 
Exercise equipment, alkaline batteries, car batteries, light bulbs, smoke detectors, or household hazardous materials cannot be recycled at this event. Check the township website to find out when and how these items can be recycled. 
Early Drop-Off
Early drop-off for electronics only (no papers to be shredded) will be available on Thursday, October 12, and Friday, October 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Livingston Senior/Community Center, 204 Hillside Avenue, in Craft Room 1 (lower level).
Lightbulbs
Unbroken fluorescent “swirl” bulbs and tubes up to four feet in length are accepted at the township’s Electronics Recycling Events. Regular “Edison” — incandescent — bulbs are not accepted; dispose of those with regular household garbage. 
Paper Shredding 
All types of confidential paper documents will be accepted for shredding. These personal paper documents will be shredded and recycled on site at Livingston’s 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. event on October 14th. 
“There’s a limit of five boxes of papers per household, and shredding is for Livingston residents only,” Vieira said. “Home-based businesses or institutions are not eligible to use this service.” 
Residents are reminded that the following will not be accepted: hard-cover books, three-ring binders, paper clips, CDs, computer disks, pendaflex-type folders, and other fastened documents.
The shredding trucks fill up quickly, so Livingston residents are reminded to bring their documents to the site in a container that can be easily emptied. “Remove pages from plastic binders, and bring only sensitive documents for shredding,” said the mayor. 
Newspapers, magazines and books should always be recycled with regular bi-weekly paper pickup. “If you have a book or workbook with your name or some other identifying information in it, just remove the pages with the sensitive information and shred those few pages,” Vieira said, “then recycle the rest at home with your curbside paper recycling.” 
Residents who want to watch as their papers are shredded must park their cars in the spaces to the right, just beyond the shredding truck; this will allow traffic to continue to flow steadily.
Future E-Recycling Dates
The township typically holds three Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding Events each year. The event on October 14 is the last event for this year. For more information, call Livingston’s recycling coordinator at 973-992-5000, extension 5303, or go to livingstonnj.org/ElectronicsEvents.