Just don't lose the one you're given; perhaps always keep it in your bag in case your race is using them. There are instances where judges rely on their information to complete accurate results.

I am less interested in streamlining the chips, more interested in getting rid of them.

To streamline the use of electonic chip timing, it might help to contact the people who run the Prarie City Mountain Bike Series, who run 18+ races a year. They have you register once, at the start of the series, and you pay for your chip (it is in your number plate) when you start the series. You keep this for the remainder of the series. If you lose it, or forget to bring it, you buy a new one when you get to the race. You also register at all the races after the first one by just having the computer "read" who you are (by riding through the laptop based-sensor area) with your chip on the bike. No lines to wait in and nothing to sign, just hand off your money, and they already know who you are by your chip. Another helpful organization tip, though roadies will probably revolt against this, is that you could also mark one of the calves with a number when there are combined groups, that way you can tell who you are racing against in breaks and out on the road when you pass or get passed by different waves. At the end of the race, you check your results like always, and then you have a pre-determined time period to "protest" what you feel may be a faulty reading or incorrect placing. Anybody else who has any solutions feel free to help out with suggestions.