ECS Refining

Located in Reed Street Santa Clara, CA, ECS Refining provides electronics recycling services for residents and businesses across California.

Services offered

Donation Program Recycling Refurbishment Resale

What it costs

This is a national program drop-off. National programs typically accept the manufacturer's own brand free of charge, with fees on third-party items or oversized goods (CRT monitors, large appliances). Confirm pricing with the location before drop-off.

California e-waste law

California's Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (SB 20/SB 50) (2003) governs how electronics must be disposed of in this state. The law uses an advance recycling fee (ARF) and covers video display devices >4 inches: TVs, monitors, laptops, tablets, e-readers.

Fee structure: ARF $5-7 per unit at point of sale, paid by consumer, funds collection program

Penalty for illegal disposal: Up to $25,000 per violation per day for illegal disposal of CEDs

Key requirements: Banned from landfill since 2006. Free drop-off mandated at collection sites. Manufacturers must register annually.

Source: CalRecycle (California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery).

What can be recovered from your e-waste

Material composition varies by device, but the typical recoverable yields look like this:

• Laptop (2200g typical) - recoverable: 0.22g gold, 1.1g silver, 290g copper, 380g aluminium
• Tablet (480g typical) - recoverable: 0.06g gold, 0.55g silver, 38g copper, 95g aluminium
• Desktop computer (9500g typical) - recoverable: 0.38g gold, 2.0g silver, 1450g copper, 480g aluminium

Source: Cucchiella et al. (2015) Recycling of WEEEs; Umicore Precious Metals Recovery datasheets; UNEP Recycling From E-Waste to Resources.

Before you visit

**Before you visit:** call ahead to confirm current accepted items and opening hours. Wipe personal data from any device with a hard drive or storage chip. Remove batteries from devices where possible. Some sites charge fees for CRT TVs, large appliances, or commercial-quantity drop-offs.

Modern integrated smelters (Aurubis, Umicore, Boliden) can recover the precious metals embedded in circuit boards. Drop-off sites like this one are the first link in that recovery chain.

Related listings and tools

All recycling locations in California · Recycler directory · Find recycling near me · Scrap value calculator

Listing reviewed: April 2026 - sourced from eCycling Central's directory of US recycling locations.