SLCAN News & Views • June 2008

A Universe of Waste

By Tim Felton

Did you know that it is illegal to dispose of batteries, electronic devices and fluorescent light tubes into the trash?

Have you ever wondered what to do with your old electronic devices such as computers and monitors, cell phones or pretty much anything with a circuit board in it? How about batteries, mercury thermometers and thermostats, and fluorescent light tubes?

 Well, these items are regulated in California as “Universal Waste” which means that they are a special type of hazardous waste that has a low toxicity and is generated by a lot of people.  The concern with universal waste is typically heavy metals such as lead and mercury getting into our landfills and contaminating our groundwater. Homeowners are required to dispose of universal wastes properly but are not subject to the same storage, handling and labeling requirements that a commercial generator would have to follow.  “E-waste” (electronic waste) is a sub-section of Universal Waste and it includes computers, monitors, televisions, fax machines, cell phones, vcr and dvd players, stereos (personal ones too) or pretty much any type of electronic device

Universal waste must be sent to an authorized facility for recycling or disposal. Lucky for us, there are several local facilities that accept Universal Waste for free! There are also “E-Waste” collection drives at the San Leandro high school a couple of times per year (they just had one in September) and other local organizations host them as well. See the table below for a short-list of free places to take your Universal Waste or visit www.stopwaste.org and use their “recycling wizard” feature to find a facility to that will take your waste.

The House-Hold Hazardous Waste (HHW) facilities in Alameda county can accept your spent batteries, fluorescent light tubes, aerosol cans (with product still in them, empties can go in the trash), mercury thermometers/thermostats as well as paints, pesticides, and most other house-hold hazardous waste you may have. They do not except E-waste however. These facilities are usually open Thursday-Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm for drop off.  The Haward facility is located at 2091 West Winton Ave. Visit www.stopwaste.org for more locations in Alameda county.

Free Universal Waste Disposal Options