Computer Waste Becomes Problem as Obsolete Machines Pour into Landfills.

Byline: Connie Skipitares

Apr. 29--Consumers' love of throwing out the old -- furniture, cars and now rapidly obsolete computers, TVs and other electronics -- is leading Silicon Valley and the nation toward an e-waste crisis, a panel of waste experts and environmentalists said Friday.

More than a decade ago, cities dramatically reduced waste to landfills with bold recycling programs that diverted bottles, cans and newspapers. Now, electronic devices, which are being produced and discarded faster than any other consumer product, threaten to fill the dumps back up with record numbers of monitors, hard drives and other cyberjunk, the experts said at a conference …