They've been doing this recycle stuff in California the last few years (at least in the SF Bay Area). There's a surcharge on new electronics, so nothing is free. They hold regular one-day pickups of electronics. The stuff is not automatically trashed! It's big business for recyclers who contract to gather the stuff from citizens. They thank citizens for handing it over, because it's easy money to be made from it. It's sorted, and much of it is resold to collectors and hobbyists. I have found many bargains by dealing with recyclers, for instance buying in lots of items where reselling a single item on eBay can pay for the lot. So, many of these items supposedly going to the trash do end up in the hands of collectors. The crap left over is shredded for recycling.
We down here in So. Calif. (Ventura County) have had electronic recycling for many years.
There are regular annnouncements of Community Day Recycling, say, at City Hall or the Community Center.
Our housing tracts have small-to-smaller yards, so no disposing of anything except maybe for a small pet rat
or two - - -