Plus, in the fast-changing world of technology, equipment is often considered obsolete in just a few years, and people replace it.
Officials say many New Jersey towns and counties already have e-waste recycling programs, and residents can soon expect to see more options, including expanded recycling at stores and other programs manufacturers will put in place.
For consumers, "the whole idea is to make it convenient and free," said Guy Watson, chief of the Bureau of Recycling and Planning within the Department of Environmental Protection.
If residents put old TVs and computer equipment by the curb, waste haulers won't pick it up, Watson said.
New Jersey residents had been recycling 10 million to 12 million pounds of e-waste a year. Officials are hoping to see that rise to 50 million pounds in 2011.
Supporters of both state measures - Pennsylvania's will be implemented in two years - predict they also could boost jobs in the area.
A recycler is spending up to $5 million to transform a Northeast Philadelphia building into an e-recycling facility that could employ 50 people.
Both states' bills target televisions and computer equipment exclusively - the bulkiest and heaviest among myriad electronic devices.
In Cherry Hill, officials estimate that 75 percent of the 45 tons of e-waste the municipality recycled last year was televisions and computer equipment.
This week, the township is starting public-service ads about the new law.
Nationwide, e-waste has been growing two to three times faster than any other component of the waste stream.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly 27 million televisions and 205 million computer products entered the waste stream in 2007, only 18 percent of which were recycled.
