For almost five years, large companies had special procedures to follow when disposing of high-tech garbage, known as e-waste. Small companies and households were exempt from the rules.

Since Feb. 9, however, anyone with e-waste must use proper disposal methods. E-waste--usually defined as anything with circuit boards or batteries--includes all telephones, televisions, home electronics and computers, whether they are household PCs or high-powered industrial machines.

Many of those products contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury and can contaminate handlers and ground soil if thrown away like regular trash.

The city of Sunnyvale and the state of California have set up a number of outlets for people looking to get rid of their old equipment. In Sunnyvale specifically, e-waste can be taken to the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station,

, and batteries can be placed in heavy-duty plastic bags and put out next to traditional trashcans.

The city has actually been offering residents that service for years, knowing that the disposal exemption could eventually end.

"This is something everyone is going to have to address, so it just made sense to get a jump on things," said Sunnyvale Deputy Communications Officer Adam Levermore-Rich.

The SMaRT Station collects e-waste and sorts it by type to be sent to individual "demanufacturing," companies that break the items down and recycle the materials.

But the city is not the only entity acting as the middleman for e-waste recycling. A number of companies have also gotten into the business of collecting and sorting e-waste for recycling.

Sunnyvale's Amerturk Inc--just a few blocks from the SMaRT Station on Duane Avenue--specializes in collecting unwanted computers and other equipment from major companies.

In just one week, CEO Harum Sevimli, a Sunnyvale resident, said the company collects 10-20 thousand pounds of e-waste.

"A lot of people don't know what do with all this stuff," said Patricia Perry, AmerTurk director of communications and fundraising. "We've get things from the 1940s that people have just held on to."

The company recently helped St. Francis High School get rid of its old computers and in just three days, literally filled a room, floor to ceiling, with computer monitors.

"And we expect business to increase with the new law," Perry said.

Companies like Amerturk don't do the recycling themselves because dealing with hazardous chemicals requires special permits and facilities, but they sort the items and send them out.

Such companies are supported by funds set aside by the Electronic Waste Recycling Act that became law on Sept. 24, 2003. Since Jan. 1, 2005, California residents pay a fee of $5-$10 whenever they buy certain video display devices, such as computer monitors or televisions, and that money is put in a special account.

Because of the state funding, all the equipment collected must be catalogued for reference, but there is no cost to residents who drop equipment off.

On Feb. 6 and 7, Santa Clara resident Charlie Sosinsky dropped off a truckload of computer monitors and an old VCR at Amerturk.

"I think the recycling is a good thing, and I hope they can be put to a good use," he said. "I think we ought to do all we can."

Some of the items Amerturk collects are donated to community organizations, but most of the company's community work comes through fundraisers. While the company doesn't typically pay for donated goods, it does offer money for groups that bring in equipment. That work also helps expose Amerturk's business to the community, so more people know about the now-mandatory services they provide.

"Most citizens are unaware of this," Sevimli said. "They want to help; they just need us to tell them how."

Amerturk Inc. is located at 1050 E. Duane Avenue, Suite M. Drop off hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 408.733.3916 or 408.329.1716. For information on Sunnyvale e-waste recycling, visit www.sunnyvalerecycles.org, or call 408.730.7262.