One type of video game console is so much in demand as a holiday gift this year that local stores sell out within a half-hour of getting their weekly shipments.

But what happens to the old game system when the new one gets hooked up to the television? Like other electronic waste, the insides of game systems contain heavy metals and other toxic substances that cannot be mixed with your household trash and require special handling.

To fund an e-waste recycling infrastructure and ensure the safe handling of these devices, a state law requires retailers to collect a $6 to $10 fee for each electronic device with a screen larger than 4 inches, measured diagonally. Funds are remitted to the state, and most of the money is paid to recyclers, providing a 20-cents-per-pound processing fee for certain types of electronic items.

Using these payments, as well as grants and money from public agencies, the following sites have been developed to accept e-waste and keep it out of local landfills:

- Pollution Prevention Center in the Ojai Valley, for residents of Fillmore, Ojai, Santa Paula and Ventura County's unincorporated areas. Call 658-4323.

- Clean Harbors in Camarillo, serving residents of Camarillo and small businesses meeting certain requirements in unincorporated areas. Call 987-0717.

- A city of Thousand Oaks facility serving city residents and unincorporated areas. Call 449-SAVE.

- A Santa Clara River Valley facility serving Fillmore, Santa Paula and unincorporated areas. Call 658-4323.

- Gold Coast Recycling Center, serving Ventura. Call 642-9236.

- Del Norte Recycling Center, serving Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Call 278-8200.

- GI Industries/Waste Management, serving Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark. Call 522-9400.

Most of the above sites require appointments, so call before taking your electronic waste.

Many community cleanup and household hazardous waste collection events throughout the county have also offered opportunities to drop off electronic waste, and occasionally cities offer special e-waste-only events. For example, on Jan. 11-12 at the Simi Valley Town Center, CJ Seto Support Services and the city of Simi Valley will hold a free e-waste collection event. The event is open to businesses and residents from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

CJ Seto is also offering free recycling services for electronics dropped off at its Ventura headquarters during all of January.

Normally, the company accepts only computer monitors for free and charges $5 per unit to accept other electronics, with higher charges for large items such as copiers (25 cents per pound). Although the company will accept monitors, processors, fax machines, copiers and nearly anything else with a plug. It does not accept microwave ovens or appliances.

It also can send out trucks to collect some types of electronics, but it charges $5 per unit for low-cost items such as monitors and has a minimum collection of 10 items. Like other private e-waste recycling companies, it accepts light bulbs of all varieties but charges a fee, ranging from 25 cents to $1 per foot. CJ Seto can be reached at 644-1214.

A coming change in the way television signals are transmitted is likely to create a lot of e-waste in about a year. Television stations nationwide must switch from analog broadcasts to digital transmission by Feb. 17, 2009. Carlos Campos, manager of CJ Seto, expects many people will purchase converter boxes when their sets lose their signals, but many others will instead buy new television sets with built-in digital tuners, discarding their old televisions.

If you are planning to buy a bigger or better television within the next year, you may want to keep your eye on the environment by buying one of the used sets expected to flood thrift stores and exchange services such as www.VCmax.org within the next year and then getting a converter box when they become available.

On the Net:

http://www.wasteless.org/5_2A_Computerintro.html

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Electronics

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/clashoftheconsoles

http://www.vcmax.org

— David Goldstein is an environmental resource analyst for the county of Ventura. Representatives of government or nonprofit agencies who want to submit articles on environmental topics for this column should contact Goldstein at 658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.