Durham residents looking for an easy and free way to recycle electronic waste (e-waste), shred confidential documents, and dispose of their live Christmas trees should attend this City of Durham event next month.

The E-Waste Recycling, Paper Shredding, and Live Christmas Tree Disposal event will be on Saturday, January 20 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Durham County Memorial Stadium on the home side parking lot, located at 750 Stadium Dr. Staff will be on hand to assist with unloading old electronics, paper, and trees.

E-waste Recycling

Nearly all electronic devices with a cord will be accepted including:

• Computers, laptops, keyboards, mice, printers, monitors, speakers, copiers, scanners, circuit boards, hard drives, computer parts, etc.
• Televisions, stereo equipment, tape players, receivers, amplifiers, record players, etc.
• Kitchen electronics, such as microwaves, mixers, blenders, choppers, etc.
• Telephones, cell phones, and fax machines
• Hair dryers, curling irons, alarm clocks, and vacuum cleaners
• Power tools, cordless tools, etc.
• Electronic toys, such as keyboards and video game systems
• This event will NOT accept large appliances, refrigerators, air conditioners or any other appliances that contain Freon in non-working condition.

 Paper Shredding

Confidential paper shredding will also be provided on site. Shredding requirements include:

• Paper may contain paper clips and staples; however, hanging file folders will not be accepted.
• Only paper should be brought for shredding. CDs, DVDs, and other non-paper items will not be accepted. 
• All paper should be loose and not in binders or other binding items made of non-paper.
• Residents may be present to observe their confidential document shredding if the amount to be shredded can fit into one 96-gallon roll cart (approximately 240 pounds of material or approximately eight small, banker boxes of material).
• Participants with larger quantities will have items placed in boxes to be shredded off-site at Shimar Recycling’s secure facility. 

Live Christmas Tree Disposal

Trees taller than six feet should be cut in half and not placed in bags.

Remove all decorations and hardware, including tinsel, lights, garland, ornaments, nails, and stands.

Durham residents who can’t attend this January 20 event can still safely and conveniently recycle their old electronics at no charge at the City’s Waste Disposal and Recycling Center (Transfer Station), located at 2115 E. Club Blvd. The facility is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

As a reminder, the City’s Solid Waste Management Department is also offering free curbside collections of live Christmas trees until February 1. Non-Yard Waste customers must contact Durham One Call at (919) 560-1200 to request a curbside collection of their live Christmas tree. All service requests must be received no later than the end of business on February 1. Once received, service requests will be scheduled for the next available Saturday collection on either January 13, January 27 or February 3. Yard Waste customers should place their live trees at the curb on their scheduled collection day. Tree locations will be noted by their weekly collection crews and added to the next available Saturday collection day on either January 13, January 27 or February 3. A tree collection will not count toward free brush collections for yard waste customers. In addition to free curbside collections, residents may drop off their live Christmas trees at the City’s Waste Disposal and Recycling Center at no charge from January 2 until February 3. Trees delivered after February 3 will be subject to the usual yard waste disposal fees. Requirements for curbside disposal of live Christmas trees are as follows: trees taller than six feet must be cut in half; all decorations including tinsel, lights, garland, ornaments, nails, stands, and hardware must be removed; and trees should not be placed in bags.