CALIFORNIA ELECTRONIC RECYCLING PRESS RELEASE

ASL Recycling Hits 100 GREENspot E-Waste Locations

With 100 free GREENspot e-waste drop-off locations now available, most Bay Area residents
need drive no more than 5 miles to safely dispose of their old TVs and other electronics

SAN JOSE, Calif.--July 22, 2008--Just six months after launching, ASL Recycling’s GREENetwork has grown to include 100 GREENspot e-waste drop-off locations in California. ASL Recycling is one of the largest state-approved recyclers and continues to expand the reach of its GREENetwork to make it easy for Californians to off-load their e-waste. As consumer awareness of these free and convenient neighborhood locations grows, hundreds of residents and businesses are visiting a neighborhood GREENspot location each month, resulting in seven million pounds of e-waste being diverted from local landfills this year.

The growing network of GREENspots means that most Bay Area residents now have one close by. For the nine Bay Area counties, 87 percent of households are located within 5 miles of a GREENspot, and 96 percent are located within 10 miles.

Percent households located 5 miles or less from a GREENspot (by county)
San Francisco: 100%
San Mateo: 98%
Santa Clara: 97%
Alameda: 95%
Contra Costa: 95%
Marin: 68%
Sonoma: 56%

Carey Levine, vice president of sales and marketing at ASL Recycling, wants to make it free and convenient for Californians to safely dispose of their e-waste. “What we hear is that consumers want to do the right thing and get rid of their e-waste responsibly, but they’re concerned about the security of their personal data or exactly how the e-waste is being recycled. When you select a GREENspot, you can be sure that you’re working with a reputable e-waste collector that is part of the ASL GREENetwork.”

Carey’s e-waste blog: http://greenster.typepad.com/zerowaste/

Additional GREENspots in the pipeline
In the last two months, 11 new GREENspot e-waste drop-off locations were established in Northern California, bringing the total to 100 statewide. Next month, GREENspots are coming to Southern California. New locations recently just added to the GREENetwork:

Casey Moving Systems, Atwater
Teen Challenge, Campbell
Cardinale Moving and Storage, Castroville
Casey Moving Systems, Ceres
Teen Challenge, Concord
Shred-It, Foster City
TOMRA Pacific, Fremont
Galt Recyclers, Galt
TOMRA Pacific, Napa
Cummings Moving Company, South San Francisco
Casey Moving Systems, Stockton

A complete list of ASL GREENspot drop-off locations is available here.

What to recycle, and why
Unlike other recyclable waste, there is no ‘blue bin’ equivalent for curbside collection of e-waste, and most people don’t know what to do with it. ASL Recycling is changing that by establishing a statewide network of dependable GREENspot e-waste drop-off locations, and by orchestrating locally focused public awareness campaigns. Californians can visit www.aslgreenspot.com to find a local GREENspot. E-waste accepted at GREENspot drop-off locations includes TVs, cell phones, audio-video components, computer equipment, microwave ovens, electronic equipment from offices and labs, and more. These items are potentially toxic to the environment and by choosing to recycle them, Californians can help divert e-waste from landfills. All GREENspot drop-off locations feed their e-waste to ASL Recycling’s state-approved plants, which use an environmentally friendly e-waste recycling process.

E-waste and the law
E-waste, which includes TVs, monitors, computers, cell phones, and other old electronics, is the fastest-growing category of solid waste in the United States. California is leading the nation with its Electronic Waste Recycling Act, the state’s e-waste recycling legislation. The state’s Department of Toxic Substance Control has stated that video display devices are hazardous waste and are covered by the Electronic Waste Recycling Act. This means it is illegal to discard the following devices in household and business trash:
- cathode ray tube (CRT) devices (including televisions and computer monitors);
- LCD desktop monitors;
- laptop computers with LCD displays;
- LCD televisions;
- plasma televisions;
- portable DVD players with LCD displays;
- gaming Devices and consoles.

Many other electronic devices, though not covered by the Electronic Waste Recycling Act, could be considered hazardous waste and should not be discarded in the regular trash.

About ASL Recycling and the GREENetwork
ASL Recycling is dedicated to providing consumers and businesses with the easiest, most accessible, and most trusted e-waste recycling program in the country. Every month, ASL Recycling prevents hundreds of tons of e-waste from being dumped into local landfills by collecting old electronics and preparing it for recycling. All material received at ASL's state-of-the-art plant is dismantled: hard drives are crushed, materials are sorted and then sent to smelters that transform e-waste into salable goods. To become part of the GREENetwork, visit http://www.aslgreenetwork.com .