They usually pull up in a truck or van. And they usually need some assistance in pulling an old TV, computer, stereo, VCR or DVD player out of their vehicles.

It’s been going on for at least six years now, maybe even longer in some places.

It’s people taking advantage of an “Old Electronics Recycling Day,” and a county recycling service most often offers it.

With the choices in TVs, video components, computers and numerous other cell phone or compact music/Internet players growing with each passing year, there continues to be a great need for places to recycle these products.

It was only a few years ago in which consumers were warned that their appetite for new electronics carried an unhealthy side effect with the huge amounts of “toxic e-waste” they were creating in the process. Health experts were specific in their warnings that the cathode ray tube in old-style TV sets or computers contained as much as four to eight pounds of hazardous lead.

With the smaller appliances, the amount of mercury in their batteries and the cadmium in their displays was a health concern.

Without a national recycling program in place for electronics, states and mostly county municipalities created recycling programs and in some cases even banned the cathode-ray devices from landfills.

Just two years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency was estimating that 20 to 24 million unused TVs and computers were stuck in closets or cluttering up desks and tables across the country. With the advent of high-definition and now LED television sets, that number could skyrocket.

With a growing number of manufacturers creating their own recycling programs, there may be more options available to consumers for recycling old electronics.

However, it would be wise to check with your county government and contact a recycling coordinator to determine what is offered.

Generally, old electronics recycling days are held on a quarterly basis, or at least three times a year.

It’s a good alternative while state governments consider other programs. For example, Consumer Reports reported three years ago that Main instituted a first-of-its-kind of statute in which manufacturers would be directly billed for the cost of recycling based on the proportion of waste generated by their products.

The concept was simple. It would be one of many future steps designed to hopefully convince manufacturers to either design longer-lasting equipment or recycling-friendly models, or inform consumers about bringing old equipment to the manufacturer’s “consolidation center.”

Some states have gone as far as banning any CRT materials from landfills, while others have mandated that manufacturers create trade-in or buy-back programs for their own recycling efforts.

Much more will unfold in the coming years, mainly because much more will continue to happen on the new electronics front.

In the meantime, load up the truck or van with those old computers and TVs and head off to your county’s old electronics recycling location, or investigate the possibility of donating them to organizations seeking such equipment.