Always a great “revisit” …

E-waste and Recycling: What to Do With Old Electronics?

by Krissy Rushing on December 27, 2013 at 2:47 am

Image from Best Buy E-waste Program

Technology moves fast, and, if you’re like me, you probably have a daunting collection of old phones, computers with cracked screens, outdated TVs, and dusty receivers in the garage threatening to take out a toe or lunging at you every time you open a drawer. Now that you got some new tech toys for the holidays, you probably want to get rid of some of the old stuff. Aside from sheer storage conundrums, e-waste is a serious environmental issue. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States generated more than 2.44 million tons and 3.4 million tons of e-waste in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In 2010, only 19.6 percent of that year’s total e-waste was recycled, and in 2011, 24.6 percent of that year’s total e-waste was recycled. Aside from selling your old stuff on eBay or Craigs List, here are some easy ways to get rid of your e-waste.

Find an E-waste Drive or Center

There are plenty of ongoing e-waste drives put on by everyone from your local YMCA, Goodwill, or  Best Buy. Some are special events, some are permanent e-waste drive centers. A good place to start is with your city’s department of public works, which should have a list of scheduled e-waste drives in your area. Also check the Environmental Protection Agency‘s website–you can even search by brand.

If you’re in the New York/New Jersey area, the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee and the NFL are partnering with Verizon and the Broadway Green Alliance to collect and safely recycle electronic waste in early January. The recycling events are open to the public, and are a part of the group’s commitment to a cleaner environment. The first of two collections will take place in New Jersey on January 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the AnythingIT Fair Lawn Headquarters located at 17-09 Zink Place in Fair Lawn. AnythingIT, which is E-Stewards certified, is the electronics recycler for both events. On January 8, a collection will take place in New York City at Duffy Square in Times Square, off of 7th Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets. Drop off their electronic waste between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Amazingly, Verizon has collected 1.5 million pounds of e-waste at similar events since the launch of its recycling rally program in 2009.

When looking for a drive or e-waste center, make sure that there is some certification of how products are recycled. For example, just because you delete all your personal info from the hard drive of your laptop doesn’t mean that it isn’t accessible. Information is only truly deleted when it is overwritten by other files being stored.

Get Money for Your Old Devices

Recently, I took my cracked iPhone to the Apple Store to try to get the LCD screen fixed. They told me it would cost almost as much as a new one. So while my old iPhone is useless to me, there are people out there who value its parts or who want to refurbish and resell it. For example, at Gazelle, you can get $150 for an iPhone 5S, 16GB that doesn’t turn on, is cracked, and missing buttons. Even if you simply want to upgrade to the newest model, you can sell your old phone (or tablet) here and get even more for it if it’s in good condition.

Any way you look at it, recycling your old electronic junk is a good thing. It gets it out of your closet or garage, does something positive for the environment, might put a few dollars in your pocket, and, if you do it via a respectable outlet who guarantees a data wipe, you can rest easy knowing your personal information is not going to be compromised.