It’s the weekend – the El Cerrito DMV is closed – but  a constant stream of cars flows through the Manila Avenue parking lot. Rather than the usual hurry-up and wait posture of the DMV line, these cars move through the lot with the efficiency of a well-run drive through.

The cars are here to take advantage of the free electronic waste event sponsored by the city and run by the Oakland-based company, Universal Waste Management.

Trunks full of old TVs, computers, microwaves, and vacuum cleaners, are being unloaded to be recycled. “We take anything with a plug,” said Jan Rice, who is running the event in the empty parking lot – turned bustling transfer station.

One El Cerrito resident in line with a plastic bag full of small electronics including some cordless phones, said she comes to the e-waste events regularly. When asked why she doesn’t just throw her electronics away, she said, “well you’re not suppose to.” Another man waiting in line had an old electronic keyboard that he’d been trying to get rid of for three weeks. He said he pulled into the lot when he saw the sign for the event on San Pablo Avenue.

One weekend event like this will keep about 50,000 pounds of electronic waste from sitting in a landfill, according to Rice. “This is the fastest growing segment of the waste stream. In California alone, 6,000 computers go obsolete a day,” she said. Electronics left in a landfill can leech carcinogens and toxins like lead, mercury, poly vinyl chloride, and chromium.

Besides protecting the environment there is also money to be made by recycling electronics thanks to a 2003 state law that added a tax, called the electronic waste recycling fee, to anything with a screen. The fee can range anywhere from $8 to $25 depending on the size of the device. The tax is different from something like a bottle refund because the consumer will never get that money back. Instead, it is paid to collectors and recyclers of electronic waste.

Recyclers get reimbursed from the state based on the amount and type of e-waste collected. Companies like Universal Waste Management also dismantle the electronics and sell the material to specialized purchasers. “We reduce the electronics to the base component parts, like glass and plastic, and metal,” said Rice. “We might get pennies on the pound for some of this stuff.” The real money comes from the state reimbursements, she said.

The city of El Cerrito has a progressive recycling center. They accept the usual mixed paper, plastic bottles, and aluminum, but they also recycle batteries, large appliances, cell phones, and motor oil. But they are unable to deal with the quantity and difficulty of recycling most electronics. So, twice a year the city invites Universal Waste to host a free electronic recycling event. Residents can safely get rid of their old electronics and recyclers can make a living off of keeping toxic trash out of the landfill.

There have been a few stories in the media recently about the e-waste stream being exported to developing countries. Discarded cathode ray tubes (CRTs) – like TVs and computer monitors – are shipped, often illegally, to other countries where they are disassembled for valuable copper, gold, and lead. Without regulation, safety standards, or proper equipment, processing e-waste can cause in a lethally toxic environment.

Rice said, “I got a call once from China. They wanted to buy some CRT’s, but we won’t do it.” Universal Waste Management recycles all e-waste items and the products stay in California,                                                                      she said.

Besides electronics, events organized by Universal Waste Management also accept donations of coats for the organization One Warm Coat, and food donations for local food banks.

If you missed the January 3 and 4 event, there will be another e-waste event in El Cerrito on the first weekend in June. E-waste can also be dropped off at the Universal Waste Management facility at 721 37^th Avenue in Oakland.

More information about local e-waste disposal can be found at www.unwaste.com or by calling 888.832.9839.

BY DANIEL MCGLYNN // Maybe you’ve been stockpiling broken electronic gadgets, are trying to make room for new holiday gifts, or are preparing for the impending switch to digital TV. Regardless of what kind of electronic waste situation you find yourself in, Universal Waste Management is willing to take them off your hands.  The free electronic waste recycling event will be held January 3 and 4, in the DMV parking lot at 6400 Manila Ave.

The event, which is hosted by the city in partnership with Universal Waste Management, an e-waste recycler, will happen between 9 a.m and 3 p.m. on both days.  

“We take anything with a plug,” said Jan Rice, who is organizing the event.  The only fee collected will be $5 for microwaves.

For more information check out www.unwaste.com
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The front entrance of the new El Cerrito City Hall on San Pablo Avenue.

BY FERNANDO GALLO//

The El Cerrito City Council discussed technological advancements the city has made to better serve and educate its residents, as well as a new recycling system, at its bimonthly meeting on Oct. 20.

The council session, which also served as the Public Financing Authority meeting, marked only the second time the council has met in the new state-of-the-art city hall.

Sergeant Robert De La Campa and Corporal Susan Garman of the El Cerrito Police Department gave a presentation to the council explaining the department’s use of CrimeReports.com. The website works in conjunction with police departments to organize crime statistics and uses Google maps to show where certain crimes have been committed in the city.

De La Campa said the website makes it easier for the department to present crime data.

“We think it’s not only easier, but it’s more beneficial for the viewer,” De La Campa said. “Most people like to see things more than to read it and hear it in dry text.”

De La Campa also said the department has been working for the last few months on getting El Cerrito’s data onto the website and it was expected to be accessible to the public Oct. 21. Interested residents need to sign up for a free account in order to access the information.

The council also discussed another way the city is using the Internet to inform its residents: webcasting. City Clerk Cheryl Morse explained how new streaming video of council meetings is available on the city’s website. Residents can watch council meetings live on the Internet, or pick a topic from the council’s agenda and watch that portion of the meeting at their convenience.

Councilmember Abelson praised the new feature and said it would be a great benefit to residents.

“People don’t have to come here at all, they don’t have to go down and see the city clerk – they can do this in the middle of the night, if that’s what they want. They can do it from the other side of the world,” she said. “I think it’s important to be transparent… to the community, and this is a way of making it a lot easier to do that.”

The city began its new streaming feature with the Oct. 6 council meeting.

Another major topic of discussion was the revision being made to the city’s current recycling process. Two members of the city hall staff presented the plan, which would significantly alter how residents dispose of their recyclables. Currently, residents use two bins for their recyclable materials, which they must sort themselves. The new plan would give each resident a single recycling cart where all recyclable materials would be deposited, and the new recycling center, currently under construction, would not process the recyclables on-site as originally planned.

Mayor Bill Jones spoke glowingly of the plan during the meeting.

“This is a huge project in this sense: We’re changing service for the better,” he said. “But we are also designing a new facility for half the price and I think the two of these put together… this will take us well into the future.”

Environmental analyst Garth Schultz, who helped present the plan, said this change in the recycling process would reduce a forthcoming increase in residents’ waste management bill from 25 percent to 10 percent. Although the plan was brought to the council in order to get direction from the council members, Schultz said it is already well underway.

“Parts of it are already done now,” Schultz said.

The city council also agreed to consider new additions to the City Council Wall of Fame on a regular basis. The Wall of Fame was created to honor distinguished citizens of El Cerrito, and Abelson said there have not been many new additions in recent years. The council voted at Monday’s meeting to place Miriam Wilkins on the Wall of Fame.

“It’s a way to honor people who have really given to the community and to the greater world,” Abelson said. “I’m really supportive of it because I think that that’s the least we can do for people, to encourage people to give to the community.”

The next council meeting is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m.