Christmas is finally over and you’ve mastered that new mobile device, Blu-ray player, wide-screen TV, or whatever other electronic piece of equipment you found under the tree. Now, somewhere tucked away in the garage or a closet is all the antiquated electronics stacked in a precarious pile that seems to grow every year. If it’s like my pile, then it’s time to do something about it.
Recently, I moved which gave me the opportunity to go through my ever-growing pile of electronic and clean house. I still had several Compaq DeskPro 4000s which are probably over ten years old, a few laser printers, some old digital cameras, and a DVD player or two, not to mention the few boxes of spare parts and small items. I had to do something. I didn’t want to carry all this old junk with me to my new house.
Unfortunately, I was unable to re-gift any of my electronics, they were just too old. However, if your equipment is still in usable and fair condition, it might be worth it to hand it off to someone else in your household or a relative to extend its life. My sister often replaces items before their lifecycle is complete, giving them to other members of her family. Her children have laptops, iPads, and iPhones that were once hers.
It use to cost to have your electronic recycled but because of the money to be made and newer technologies that separate the materials more effectively, most recycling organizations and companies are doing it for free now. Some companies have drop-off points where you can take your electronics and some offer free pick-up. Free pick-up is great for businesses that have large quantities, especially after a recent hardware refresh. There are also many organizations that offer monthly or special occasion recycling. Churches, schools, and waste disposal companies often have electronics recycling days.
Printer cartridges, like batteries often find their way into the trash because they are small. Unfortunately, the chemicals left in them and the plastic used to make them not good for our landfills. So if you are near an Office Depot or a Staples, they both offer printer cartridge recycling. Just bring in your old cartridges when you are purchasing your new ones and get $2.00 on your reward card. Office Depot also gives you a free pre-paid mailing label to send in your old toner cartridges. Staples allows you to bring in your old rechargeable batteries.
Recycling responsibly is more important than ever. We urge you to recycle your electronics for a safer and cleaner environment.
Here is a small list of electronics recycling resources for you.
http://www.allgreenrecycling.com/
http://earth911.com/recycling/electronics/
http://www.electronicsrecycling.org/Public/default.aspx
Related articles
- Are You Doing Your Part To Recycle? (wdok.radio.com)
- The Gadget Afterlife: Sell, Donate or Recycle Old Electronics (blogher.com)
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