By Amber Chiang, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Bakersfield College

Bring us your Unwanted, Dead or Alive!  Electronics, that is.

To help keep potentially toxic electronics out of landfills and waterways, Bakersfield College is holding an electronic waste (e-waste) collection event on August 15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the college’s southeast stadium parking lot at the corner of Mt. Vernon and University.  Residents and businesses can drop unwanted electronics free of charge at the collection area set up in the stadium parking lot.

Bakersfield College will accept most equipment with a circuit board, such as computer monitors, television sets, printers, PC systems, laptops, copiers, scanners, fax machines, toner cartridges, UPSs, PDAs, tower supplies, main frame units, networking equipment, mother board systems, VCR/VCD/DVD players, home entertainment systems, landline and cellular phones, as well as small portable devices.  We also accept car batteries; fluorescent bulbs, batteries and ballasts.

According to a California State Law that took effect in February 2006, e-waste must be recycled rather than thrown in the trash.  Consumer electronics contain low levels of hazardous metals that can contaminate soil and water.

Did you know?

• Electronic discards are one of the fastest growing segments of our nation’s waste stream.
• 56 percent of American households have functional e-products that they will no longer use.
• Less than 10 percent of e-waste is currently being properly dismantled or recycled.
• 70 percent of heavy metals, 40 percent of lead and mercury contents found in today’s landfills come from e-waste.

Once equipment is turned in at the August 15 event, it will be taken to the Bay Area for processing. AERC will assume ownership and the liability of the recyclables at the point they are collected. Bakersfield College is to be released of any and all liabilities. All hard drives collected will be wiped of information and destroyed by AERC.