By now, most people understand that there are certain types of trash that need to be separated from the rest of the stuff that goes into the waste bin. The food scraps and other types of organic waste, for example, are generally best separated for composting. When sent to the landfill with other types of inorganic waste, leftover meals, food scraps, and yard waste drastically increase the amount of methane gas emitted from landfills. According to some studies, methane gas is estimated to be 84 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Similarly, separating metal, glass, certain types of plastic, and other recyclable materials can also go a long way in reducing the amount of stress on our city´s already overburdened landfill system? But what about other household items that often get thrown away with the “regular trash.” Old appliances, broken electronics, that old VHS player that is gathering dust in your basement: all of these are commonly discarded items that are known as electronic waste, or e-waste.

In this short article, we will take an in-depth look at the serious health and environmental problems posed by electronic waste. We will then turn our attention to the local laws and ordinances that regulate how e-waste is disposed of in the Riverside region. Lastly, we outline why Junk King Riverside is the absolute best option for getting rid of your electronic waste in a safe, legal, and environmentally friendly fashion.

The Negative Side Effects of Improperly Disposing of Electronic Waste

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), e-waste is defined as “used electronics that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded, donated or given to a recycler.” What is unique about e-waste compared to many other types of trash, is that the vast majority of the components, materials, and elements inside the used electronics and appliances we use can either be reused, refurbished or recycled to minimize the actual waste that might end up in a landfill.

Some common examples of e-waste items include:

• Televisions
• Computers
• Phones
• Appliances
• Alarm clocks
• VHS
• CD players
• Refrigerators and freezers
• All different types of telecommunications equipment
• LED light bulbs
• Solar panels
• And virtually any other household item that has electronic components.

The types of electronic waste are unfortunately becoming more and common in landfills around the country due to high consumer demand and relatively short lifespans of these objects. When improperly disposed of in landfills and other illegal dumps, e-waste items can be potentially dangerous to both human health and the local environment.

Most electronic waste items have large amounts of toxic components that are dangerous to human health, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, polybrominated flame retardants, barium and lithium. In a landfill, these toxic elements can potentially leach into the soil and even local watersheds.

When these heavy metals and other dangerous toxic chemicals reach sources of groundwater, they eventually make their way into ponds, streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. Eventually, the heavy metals lead to acidification and toxification of important water sources. Not only does this effectively poison the water for animals, plants, and other aquatic species, but it can also create serious health risks to human communities.

Today, electronic waste represents just two percent of the total amount of trash in American landfills. However, e-waste items account for an astounding 70 percent of overall toxic waste. Finding ways to keep e-waste out of our landfills is thus one of the most pressing environmental concerns for waste management systems around the nation.

Laws and Ordinances Regulating E-waste Disposal in Riverside

Perhaps ironically, many of the heavy metals in e-waste items that poison the soil, water, and air when they are carelessly thrown into the dump are actually worth millions of dollars! Cell phones and other electronic items have large amounts of precious metals like gold, silver, palladium, and others. Just the cell phones that are thrown away by Americans every year contain an estimated $60 million in gold and silver.

Due to the high value of e-waste items, and the danger that they pose when improperly released into the environment, the city of Riverside has recently implemented several ordinances aimed at curbing the problem of e-waste pollution.

According to the City of Riverside Public Works Department, “The City of Riverside accepts household electronic waste for free at its regularly scheduled CURE Bulky Item/E-Waste drop-off event and at the Incredible Bulk Events. Riverside Household Hazardous Waste Facilities also accept residential TVs, monitors, CRTs, and other consumer electronic devices for recycling.”

Furthermore, regulations developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) effectively prohibit the disposal of E-Waste into trash and municipal landfills throughout the state of California. Homeowners, residents, and business owners in Riverside, California could be charged with hefty fines for improper disposal of electronic waste items.

Why you Should Choose Junk King for all your E-Waste Removal Needs

If you don’t have the time or the means to haul your e-waste items down to the bulky item and e-waste drop off centers, this doesn’t mean that you simply have to illegally dispose of your e-waste items by hiding them in the regular trash bin.

Junk King Riverside has over a decade of experience in helping their commercial and residential clients get rid of every type of junk item imaginable, including all different types of electronic waste. After several years of being the top-rated junk removal company in Riverside, we know that our clients have come to appreciate the extra effort we put in to ensure that the majority of the junk items we pick up are kept out of our region´s landfills.

We have developed several close relationships with dozens of recycling centers, thrift stores, non-profit organizations, and other interested parties to make sure that all your used junk is given every opportunity to be donated or recycled, instead of landfilled. In fact, we are able to recycle, donate, or repurpose around 60 percent of the junk that we pick up, and that number is almost always higher when it comes to e-waste items.

Besides offering the best e-waste recycling service in Riverside, we are able to help you get rid of regular trash, construction debris, household junk, yard waste, small and medium sized appliances, furniture and virtually anything that is not classified as toxic waste in an environmentally friendly manner.

We also believe that our top notch customer service is one of the reasons that we are the preferred junk removal company in Riverside and the surrounding region. To hire Junk King Riverside, you can simply call us for a free quotation or send us a text with photos of the items you need removed. We´ll send you a free quote, and once we have agreed upon a price and a two-hour window for pickup, our professional furniture removal staff will send you a text 15-30 minutes before arrival to let you know we´re on our way. We also offer free, on-site estimates, and will often be able to haul away the junk on the same day you contact us. As we mentioned above, our junk removal teams will do all the heavy hauling, so you simply have to let us know which pieces of junk you want to get rid of and we´ll do the rest!

Besides offering the most competitive junk removal prices on the market, we can also guarantee to beat any written estimate.

How to Contact Junk King Riverside

Junk King Riverside offers the most reliable, efficient, affordable, and environmentally friendly junk removal service in the southern California region. We are the pioneers of recycling based junk removal in California, and can help you reduce your environmental footprint by ensuring that your junk gets every opportunity to be recycled, upcycled, or donated. Give us a call at 1-888-888-JUNK or (951) 383-3757, or book online today!