The market for discarded electronic wares has grown so strong that an e-recycling company has recycled itself.

When a major East Bay e-waste recycler, Got E-Waste Inc., was dissolved late last year, a San Leandro office furniture company stepped into the breach, starting its own division to help handle the crush of excess technological devices. Called Electronic Waste Management, the new division of Acquisitions Office will pick up where Got E-Waste left off, staging drop-off events throughout Northern California where all manner of computer components, copy and fax machines, cell phones, pagers, Palm Pilots, video games and other devices can be brought in to be recycled or reused.

Electronic waste reuse has become a major growth industry, with computers being recycled at three times the rate of those being dumped in landfills worldwide in 2005, according to one study.

Acquisitions Office has drop-off events - also open to residential users of technology - scheduled for this weekend in Salinas; Feb. 3, 4 and 5 in Stockton; and possibly later in February at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

Cynthia Borgstrom, chief financial officer of Acquisitions Office, said two of the partners who had run Got E-Waste decided to close the company "for personal reasons." Her husband, Andy Borgstrom, who serves as Acquisitions Office president, also had helped run Got E-Waste, so it was perhaps a natural for the company to pick up the slack.

"Acquisitions Office is a state-approved collector and we have a warehouse in San Leandro," she said, explaining how Acquisitions Office was able to gain approval as an e-waste recycler from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Along with selling new office furniture, the Borgstroms' company also collects surplus furniture from closing or downsizing businesses that it refurbishes.

California is one of only a few states with a law promoting e-waste recycling, allowing fees of $6 to $10 per device to help pay for such programs.

Along with the obvious environmental benefits of keeping items such as cathode ray tubes used in computer monitors out of landfills - they each contain up to 10 pounds of lead that can lead to brain and kidney damage - giving new life to discarded technology has become a hot business opportunity.

A study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University's Green Design Initiative projected that last year, nearly 150 million computers were recycled compared to 55 million that were thrown into garbage dumps. Many machines are tossed long before their useful life is over - simply discarded to make way for updated technology.

"Things are getting better, but we still have a long way to go," said Pamela Evans, green business coordinator for Alameda County, commenting on the track record of e-waste recycling in the county's business community. "But there has been a dramatic improvement. Just five years ago, there were few options for people interested in recycling these materials. It's very different today."

Though perhaps not ideal, she's quick to add.

"The information and resources are out there, but companies often have to do their own research to find them," she said. "When you've had old computers sitting around your basement for six years, it's not always easy to find ways to get them reused or recycled."

Her Alameda County Green Business program has certified 205 businesses countywide as "green," based on their efforts to recycle, curb pollution, conserve water and energy and make more environmentally responsible purchases. Although most are small and midsize, the group includes an industrial laundry operated by Aramark Corp., a nationwide food and facilities management company, and the Fremont Marriott and Oakland Marriott City Center.

More than 600 Bay Area businesses have earned that certification.