PC Owners Support Fee For Disposal And Recycling

Buyers want guarantee money will fund collection.

Two old computer monitors gather dust in Al Booth's San Jose garage. Across town, Frances Aquistapace has another two she's not sure what to do with. In Fremont, Gerry Corella is trying to find a new home for his old monitor.

Outdated tech junk is piling up in garages, basements and attics throughout the Bay Area. Statewide, an estimated 6 million computers and television sets sit unused, with 6,000 more becoming obsolete every day.

Computer owners eager for an answer say they're not opposed to a fee on new computers if -- and it's a big if -- they can get some guarantees that the money will result in not only responsible disposal but also a widespread system for collection.

“For $10, I don't see it as an issue at all,” said Rob Porter of San Jose. “Even $25 wouldn't choke me.”

A series of Mercury News articles exposed the environmental and health problems in impoverished villages in China, where most of America's unwanted computer parts end up.

Legislation has been introduced in Sacramento and Washington to add a $10 surcharge to the purchase of a new computer.

Consumers said they would rather be charged an extra $10 at the cash register of CompUSA, the Gateway Country store or Dell.com than leave it up to the government or big businesses to fund recycling programs.

“Either way, it's going to be passed on to the consumers,” said Aquistapace, a work-at-home dot-commer who has two computers and a server in her home. “I don't know if it's a sign of the times or what but I don't put a whole lot of trust in higher government or the bigwigs in corporate offices to do the right thing.

“I don't have a lot of faith in them these days and I think a lot of people in this country are feeling the same way,” she said.

But consumers said they're also frustrated by the current recycling process.

Consumer Ease

Peter Shi, an environmental engineer in Fremont, said he would like to see his money go toward local recycling programs. Ideally, computer parts and other electronics could be collected from the curb on trash days, much like plastics, newspapers and cans are picked up now. He also wouldn't mind seeing collection centers around cities, possibly at the same stores where the new products are sold.

“They need to make it much easier for the consumer,” he said, standing outside the Best Buy store in Union City. “If I can buy a new one here, I'd like to drop the old one here. If a company like Best Buy would say, `We'll take it,' then that would be good business.”

Shi suggested that computer parts could be handled much like car tires are handled. Consumers who buy new tires are charged a disposal fee by the retailer, which handles it for the customer.

With tires, consumers assume that retailers are disposing of them properly -- but does anyone really know for sure, Booth wondered.

“I'd like enough clarification on it to know that the money would be earmarked properly and that we would stop dumping them the way we've been doing it,” he said.

“If the $10 will help and will stop hurting other countries, then I'm OK with the $10,” Corella said. “But only as long as it goes toward that. If it isn't going toward that, then I want to know why.”

 Time to Speak Out

Linda Sherry, a spokeswoman for Consumer Action in San Francisco, said now is the time to share concerns about fees and assurances with elected officials.

“Many, many laws are made without direct input from consumers,” she said. “This is the time to weigh in.”

Still, she understands why consumers might be willing to pay a recycling fee.

“In this particular case, anyone who has ever tried to throw away an old computer has run into a situation of how hard it can be,” Sherry said. “Anyone who hasn't might not understand this fee. But in the long run, it's better to have this kind of waste handled responsibly.” - Mercury News

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