Electronics Recycling and Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event

Lafayette – On Saturday, October 13, 2001 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 1,000 households are expected to participate in the first ever combined electronics recycling and household hazardous waste (HHW) collection event. Residents from central Contra Costa have made appointments to drop-off electronic items such as old TVs, computers, microwaves and small appliances, as well as household hazardous wastes like paint, antifreeze and batteries.

“This is the largest number of participants we have ever had for a mobile collection event” said Elaine Jacobs, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District HHW collection facility manager.

The Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority (CCCSWA) and the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Central San) are cosponsoring the event with cooperation from Valley Waste Management and Philips Services. Residents will drive into the event location, answer a brief survey and then trained technicians, dressed in safety gear, will remove electronics and HHW from their trunks. Electronics will be sorted by type, then transported for refurbishment or recycling. HHW will be sorted separately, packed safely and then recycled or taken to a hazardous waste landfill.

“In the past Central San successfully operated HHW collection events. Changes in the California landfill regulations prompted us to work with Central San to include electronics in the collection event, on a pilot basis”, said CCCSWA Executive Director, Janet Schneider.

The State of California recently determined that TVs and monitors are hazardous waste and cannot be landfilled because their cathode ray tubes (CRTs) contain 4-5 pounds of lead. The CCCSWA has taken a proactive approach to divert many types of old electronics from the waste stream through collection opportunities like the one on October 13^th. The CCCSWA and Central San are using this pilot event to evaluate the amount of materials diverted, operational concerns, and costs of collecting electronics with HHW in the future.

The collection event is available by appointment only and was advertised in the Contra Costa Times and the San Francisco Chronicle East Bay edition, as well as the CCCSWA “Diversions” newsletter. For additional information about electronics recycling or HHW disposal visit the CCCSWA’s or Central San’s website www.wastediversion.org or www.centralsan.org, respectively.

Press Note: For additional details and event location please call Heather Abrams at 925-906-1804 on Friday 10/12/01. Photos will also be available after the event.

Return to Press Page