Today, they're just bulky relics -- unceremoniously stacked and shrink-wrapped, destined to be stripped of metals, then buried in a landfill.

When environmentally conscious consumers turned in their outdated electronics for recycling a year ago, many of the items were shipped overseas. Unprotected workers used caustic chemicals in unventilated rooms to harvest scraps of gold trapped in the equipment for a few dollars a week. The waste poisoned rivers.

Three Seattle-area companies took a vow yesterday to recycle hazardous materials safely and not send them to developing countries or landfills, giving people a responsible option for disposal.

"Finally we are able to tell consumers it is safe to take that old computer and monitor out of the closet, attic or garage, and send it to a company that has agreed to be among the most responsible recyclers in the entire industry," said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network, an international organization of environmental groups.

"I'm thrilled to have this pledge come out," said Sego Jackson of the Snohomish County Solid Waste Management Division. Discarded electronics, he said, are "a huge problem for local governments."

Televisions, computer monitors and circuit boards contain a laundry list of materials that are hard to get rid of safely. The average 60-pound personal computer contains almost 14 pounds of plastic, 4 pounds of both lead and copper, and 8 1/2 pounds of aluminum, according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Small amounts of mercury, beryllium and arsenic are present, too.

Released into the environment, some of these chemicals can harm people or wildlife.

Yesterday's announcement is progress, but more needs to be done, environmentalists said.

A bill is being considered in Olympia that requires electronics manufacturers to take responsibility for the safe disposal of their products. House Bill 1942 is still waiting for a committee hearing.

Since June 2001, manufacturers have been working with the federal government to establish a national program to deal with the waste problem.

Jackson, one of 15 negotiators from around the country working on the agreement, said discussions will last until the end of the year. More time will be required for the passage of a law and then for it to take effect.

"We're talking about a federal solution five or seven years away," he said.

His division has also worked with local recyclers to get a commitment to handle waste safely, but said that yesterday's pledges were stronger.

One year ago, environmental groups including the Toxics Coalition and BAN reported that many of the electronic devices turned in for recycling were sent to China, Pakistan and India, where metals were extracted in dangerous conditions.

They found that "cyberage gold miners" used acids in open vats to dissolve gold from computer parts and workers-cracked open cathode ray tubes containing toxic lead and barium.

The Washington Post reported this week that although Chinese officials have made it more difficult for computers and televisions to be dumped in their country, the practice continues.

European countries have signed an agreement banning the export of these hazardous items to China, but the United States has not. Europeans also have made manufacturers responsible for disposing of their products. The bill in Olympia would create a similar system.

"It's not until the manufacturers have to work on how the products are handled at the end of their life that they'll make it cheaper, easier and less toxic to handle," Jackson said.

Electronics companies including Epson and Hewlett-Packard recently started recycling services. For a price, items can be returned to the producer for recycling.

"We wanted to be proactive. We wanted to start something new in the U.S.," said George Lundberg, environment and safety engineer for Epson Portland Inc. Programs are required and already in place in Europe, Japan and China, he said.

The local companies that signed the pledges yesterday -- Seattle's RE-PC and Total Reclaim and PC Salvage in Lakewood -- take some items for free and charge for others. Total Reclaim charges $10 to 12 for monitors, for example. RE-PC resells what items it can.

Local solid-waste handlers are hopeful for a resolution to the problem before a massive slug of these devices are dumped on local landfills. According to a 2002 survey of King County households not including Seattle, at least 29 percent of homes were storing an unused computer; 18 percent had an extra television not in use. The area surveyed includes about 700,000 households.

"You've got a lot of reusable stuff here," said Lisa Sepanski of the King County Solid Waste Division. "It's a shame to throw it in a hole in the ground."

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

Local companies vowing to do safe electronics recycling include:

RE-PC:
Seattle: 1565 Sixth Ave. S.; 206-623-9151
Tukwila: 510 Andover Park W.; 206-575-8737
E-mail: repc@repc.com
Online: www.repc.com

Total Reclaim:
Seattle: 2200 Sixth Ave. S.; 206-343-7443
E-mail: pkeller@totalreclaim.com
Online: www.totalreclaim.com

PC Salvage:
Lakewood: 8815 Bridgeport Way S.W.; 253-581-0511
E-mail: recycling@allaboutpcsalvage.com
Online: www.allaboutpcsalvage.com