It is illegal to dispose of old and used electronics, including batteries, in the trash. Consumer electronic items, including electronic office equipment, must be disposed of properly and that includes recycling. Items that can be recycled include CRT monitors and television sets, regular and cellular telephones, phone answering machines, cell phones and accessories.
Stereo equipment, including loudspeakers, tape and cassette players and recorders, DVD and VCR players, computers and computer peripherals, scanners, fax machines, batteries, printer cartridges, audio and videotapes and floppy discs are all recyclable.
Consumer electronic recyclables will be collected free in association with California Recycles, a private electronic waste management company. A portion of the proceeds obtained from recycling old electronics benefits Santa Monica Red Cross youth programs. The Santa Monica Red Cross and California Recycles suggest that files and personal data be erased from hard drives of computers, cell phones or home telephone answering machines turned in for recycling.
For information regarding waste pick-up, contact (310) 394-3773 or go online at www.red-crossofsantamonica.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 22, 2007. Read the original PDF.