Most San Francisco Bay area residents want to create a “greener” planet for future generations. But if you’re a homeowner in Oakland with a garage full of old TVs, or a business owner in Dublin with outdated computers and printers, how do you responsibly dispose of your electronic junk? According to California environmental protection laws, East Bay Area residents must follow the same “E-waste” disposal guidelines as that store owner in Dublin or property manager in San Ramon. Simply put, it’s illegal to toss out your unwanted electronic items in the regular trash. So how can you lawfully manage your e-waste disposal in the East Bay Area?
What is “E-Waste”?
The average person in San Ramon probably has old electronic equipment lying around their home or business. The term “E-waste” is just slang for any commercial or residential electronic item that’s no longer useful to its owner. Fortunately, most electronic junk can be donated, reused, refurbished or recycled, like:
- Copiers and printers
- VCRs and DVD players
- Computer monitors and keyboards
- Televisions
- Stereos and radios
- Cellphones
- Personal digital assistants (PDAs)
- Microwave ovens
However, there are several problems associated with reusing E-waste. For starters, all electronic devices with sensitive and personal information should have their memories scrubbed before being donated to a recycling center. Secondly, and under the state’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, E-waste disposal in the East Bay Area items cannot be picked up and hauled away with the rest of your garbage.
And finally, that other Bay Area junk removal service that you’ve used before may not have the capabilities to safely haul and dispose of E-waste without violating environmental protection laws.
Removing Sensitive Data from Electronic Devices
If you manage a law office in San Ramon, or medical practice in Newark, when it’s time to throw out that old electronic equipment, simply using the mouse or keyboard to delete files won’t work. Instead, haul your old laptops, cellphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) to the local computer software store and find the best drive-cleaning software available.
How Can I Find an E-Waste Disposal in the East Bay Area Recycling Center?
Let’s say that you’re a landlord in San Francisco who’s just cleaned out a unit after a tenant eviction and now you’ve got a pile of E-waste that needs to be hauled away. Where should it go? If you click on CalRecycle’s website, there’s a map for which you can enter search terms depending upon your location. Once you’ve entered a county, zip code or town, you will then be directed to the closest recycling organizations that accept E-waste donations.
For example, if you live in Oakland and enter “Alameda County” as a search term, E-waste recycling centers within a given radius will pop up, including E-waste recycling and refurbishing organizations in Fremont, Castro Valley and San Leandro.
DIY E-Waste Hauling & Recycling is Hard
Unfortunately, if you live in the East Bay Area and there are no E-waste recycling centers close by, you’ll have to negotiate heavy traffic just to reach the nearest drop off. If you live in Hayward, it’s going to take a while. That’s where West Coast Junk can lighten your load!
For those without enough time or reliable transportation, trying to load up, haul and unload E-waste can be a real hassle. And even if you do have the time and transportation means, many heavier electronic items can damage your personal vehicle in transit.
Each E-waste recycling organization also has specific guidelines that must be followed, starting with contacting them ahead of time. In addition, the business hours and available services vary by location, and some centers even charge you a fee for recycling services. That means getting rid of that old microwave or TV may be much harder and more expensive than you thought!
Some California municipalities offer free, once-a-year E-waste curb pickups. But who wants to wait until that next E-waste collection date rolls around?
Additional E-Waste Disposal in the East Bay Area Issues
Since passage of the Electronic Waste Recycling Act, there have been a lot of updates in the form of amendments and statutes. You’ve got new public health and safety codes, electronic waste recycling codes and municipal electronic disposal codes and ordinances to stay compliant with. Who’s got time to read all those? And, most San Francisco Bay Area residents would need an attorney to help them sort through all the E-waste disposal “legalese”!
Worry-Free Commercial & Residential E-Waste Pickups
Fortunately, there’s a much easier way to eliminate your E-waste, and you won’t even have to leave your property! Call West Coast Junk in Dublin instead, and we’ll promptly and properly dispose of your electronic junk. Our E-waste junk clean-up, junk removal and junk hauling services are all eco-friendly so that our planet will be a safer and greener place.
In fact, we’ll conveniently pick up that E-waste junk from your commercial or residential property and then transport it to the nearest electronic recycling organization anywhere in the Bay Area, whether you live in San Francisco, Oakland or elsewhere.
If you’ve got some old computers or monitors sitting around your Berkley office, or an unwanted TV and microwave at your Walnut Creek home, contact the responsible junk pickup and junk removal experts at West Coast Junk today- where hauling all types of junk is OUR passion!