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A leader in electronic waste recycling projects in the northeast is the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) in Syracuse, NY. The agency held a TV collection on Saturday, April 19 in the Alliance Bank Stadium parking lot as part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge. The Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency received an EPA grant to help offset costs of the recycling project. It was one of over 100 projects involved in the challenge across eight states in the Great Lakes Basin. Organizers keep traffic flowing smoothly as 964 vehicles arrived with old TVs. The event took in 1,551 old television sets weighing 97,080 pounds, according to Andrew Radin, Director of Recycling and Waste Reduction for the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency. That means nearly 9 tons of old TVs from central New York were recycled. The agency also holds ongoing e-waste collections at the Community Collection Center also know as 3-C - located at 6085 Court Street - in Syracuse, NY. The electronics collection dates and times are: Tuesdays from 4pm to 8pm; Thursdays from 8am to noon; and Saturdays from 9am to 1 p.m. There is no charge to drop off household e-waste and other items at the collection center. The agency is developing a plan to accept TVs at the center. Over 60,000 pounds has been turned in at the Community Collection Center so far this year. Business waste in not accepted. The center accepts books, covers must be removed. The agency is helping the hungry - by asking residents dropping off items to be recycled to also bring canned food and other non perishables for Food Bank of Central New York. Since 2002, OCRRA has collected over 1,000 tons of e-waste from the community for recycling OCRRA has numerous environment projects that benefit the Syracuse area including it's Blue Bin It campaign. Blue Bin It is based on the well-know blue bins that are popular in recycling projects across the country. OCRRA has a series of radio spots promoting its blue bin it campaign. The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills. The EPA says those goals were exceeded by 400 to 500 percent. The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches and temples to participate in the Earth Day related events in their area. This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI. The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment. I'm Greg Peterson and you're watching Earth Healing TV --- OCRRA http://www.ocrra.org/recycling_c3.asp Andrew Radin Director of Recycling and Waste Reduction Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) 315-453-2866 --- Food Bank of Central New York http://www.foodbankcny.org Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York Syracuse photos by Joe Grimes Syracuse skyline photo by Kai Brinker, WikiProject Syracuse, New York Jerry Rescue Monument photo by Paul Malo --- EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinois http://www.epa.gov/region5 Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org Cedar Tree Institute http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website: http://www.interfaithresources.com 800-326-1197 847-733-3559

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