eRecycle.org helps fans take electronics “out to the ballgame”

San Francisco— The annual San Francisco Giants/KNBR FanFest, working with California’s eRecycle.org, will introduce something new to Bay Area baseball fans at this year’s Fest — the opportunity to finally get rid of those old, unwanted computer monitors and television sets, long since replaced and gathering dust in garages up and down the state.

Giants fans are being asked to bring their unwanted electronic waste to the eRecycle and Direct Computer Disposal truck in front of Pier 48 at FanFest, right across the street from the stadium. Fans can drive up to “drop off” stations and receive a thank you gift certificate from Good Guys/CompUSA Mega Stores for their effort.

As more and more California consumers are discovering — it is illegal to simply throw an unwanted television or computer monitor in the trash. Such products must be “eRecycled.”

Thanks to new legislation (the California Electronic Waste Recycling Act) launched early this year, money collected by retailers as a nominal recycling fee for every new TV or monitor purchased is going toward funding the proper collection and recycling of these products at the end of their service life.

The state of California, working with Hollywood’s environmental community, launched a multimedia consumer messaging and public information campaign earlier this year in an effort to educate the state’s residents about eRecycling — the act of recycling electronic waste, such as unwanted and nonfunctioning television sets and computer monitors. The educational campaign, dubbed “eRecycle” and made up of celebrity-narrated public service announcements, in-store materials, and a website, www.eRecycle.org, is designed to help answer the age-old question, “What am I supposed to do with my old TV?” Now they are bringing the campaign directly to sports fans.

“In California, we replace hundreds of thousands of TVs, computers, monitors, and other electronic devices every year,” said Alan C. Lloyd, Ph.D., Secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency. “Plus, we store literally millions more that we don’t use any more in our homes, garages, and businesses. Electronic products contain valuable resources such as metal, plastic, and glass, which can and should be recycled instead of thrown away. California’s new eRecycling law is a home run for consumers and the environment!”

Larry Kopald, chairman of the Earth Communications Office in Hollywood, said that the Giants are the first sports team in the state to participate in the eRecycle program at such a level, but that plans are in the works with several other baseball, basketball, and football teams across the state.