DSNY reopens Queens special drop off site

Queens residents will be able to saddle the Department of Sanitation with their “special waste.” Photo via DSNY

By Rachel Vick

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Department of Sanitation is reopening drop sites in each borough to collect hazardous trash.

Queens’ Special Waste Drop-Off Site in College Point at 30th Avenue, between 120th and 122nd Streets, will be open to collect garbage like batteries that should be disposed of separately from other collections.

“Our Special Waste Drop-Off Sites have been very popular with the public, and allow residents to safely dispose of their unwanted, but potentially harmful, household items,” said Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson.

“We all have a responsibility to dispose of these items the right way, for the safety of our City, our employees, and the environment,” he added. “We are thankful that we were able to receive the funding needed to reopen these sites.”

Other materials that can be dropped off include up to 10 quarts of motor oil or transmission fluid per visit, motor oil filters, light bulbs, latex paint, devices — like thermometers — containing mercury, passenger car tires and electronics.

If items like batteries are placed with household garbage, some have the potential to start a fire, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and the last Friday of the month for residents. Visitors will be required to show proof of residency.

Further details and a full list of sites and accepted materials are available online at nyc.gov/safedisposal