Guns collected at a gun buyback event in New Haven will be repurposed into gardening tools.
The annual Guns to Gardens National Gun Buyback Day was held Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the New Haven Police Training Academy.
The event is 100% anonymous and no ID was required. All guns are be accepted, but cash will only be given for working guns.
Guns must have been unloaded and in the trunk of a car when delivered. Ammunition was accepted, but no payment was given.
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The payment is as follows:
- BB, pellet, paint and air-powered guns: $10
- Rifles, shotguns or Derringer-type guns: $50
- Handguns (revolvers and pistols): $150
- Assault weapons (as determined by NHPD): $250
Any ammunition brought to the event had to be be delivered in a separate bag.
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Authorities remind residents that anyone dropping off a gun would not be charged will illegal possession of that gun.
Event organizers said after the guns have been surrendered and vetted by the police department, they are rendered inoperable, cut into pieces and donated to Swords to Plowshares Northeast.
Parts from the weapons are then repurposed into various gardening tools, according to the city. The finished tools are donated to local community gardens, and agricultural high schools or used as donation incentives in neighborhoods.
The event in New Haven was part of a larger national effort also taking place in over 30 other locations across the country on the same day.
Another gun buyback will be held in New Haven on June 10.
