Americans love their electronic devices–be they, laptops, tablets, e-readers et al. Perhaps more than anything though, they love their smartphones. Today’s smartphones are packed with as much processing power as a 2012 era desktop, and it’s estimated that more than three-quarters of Americans (77%) now own a smartphone.
Unfortunately, these devices don’t last forever. If you choose to trash your old electronic device at the end of its useful life, it’ll most likely end up in a landfill. Electronic-waste contains arsenic, mercury, lead, barium and chromium. Eventually, electronic waste combines with other trash to form a toxic stew of sorts. That stew then leaks into the ground and contaminates drinking water. Electronic waste is disproportionately harmful relative to the other waste in landfills. While E-waste accounts for only 2 percent of the waste in U.S. landfills, it accounts for 70% of the toxic waste.
Currently in the U.S., 25 states have passed laws that make disposing of electronic goods through regular trash collection illegal. Regardless of whether you live in one of these states, there are smarter and safer ways to dispose of electronic waste.
Here are three ways you can recycle electronic products that are no longer needed.
1. Bring It to a Recycling Center
EPA offers an accreditation program that trains and certifies electronics recyclers. The recyclers need to meet very specific practices and standards to become certified to safely recycle and manage electronics. A clickable map showing recycling centers across the U.S. can be accessed via the EPA website.
Plenty of nonprofit organizations offer help recycling old electronics. Call2Recycle, for instance, runs drop-off facilities for rechargeable batteries and cell phones all over the country. To find a location near you, just go to Call2Recycle.org and enter your zip code.
You’ll also find that many cities and towns sponsor collection days for electronics. TIA E-cycling Central provides lists of these events by state, as well as other grass roots recycling options.
2. Donate It to a Charity or to a Non-profit
If your used device is still functioning—and sometimes even if it isn’t—there are any number of charities and non-profits that will gladly accept and reuse old electronics. In partnership with Goodwill, Dell Reconnect accepts discards of any brand of computer, as well as most things you can connect to a computer. Just drop them off participating Goodwill centers across around the country.
An organization that will refurbish and resell [or recycle]all brands of used cellphones is AmericanCellPhoneDrive.org. If refurbishing and reselling your device is not an option, it will responsibly recover raw materials from the devices, sell the materials to support of a variety of good causes and properly recycle what’s left.
Finally, eBay for Charity allows you to donate all or part of the proceeds from electronic devices sold on its website to the charity of your choosing.
Many non-profits send donated electronic devices to schools, churches, or community groups where they lack the financial means to purchase these devices on their own. Donating electronics that are no longer needed is a great way to help save the environment and to give back to your local community.
Just be sure your personal information has been completely wiped-clean before you give your electronic devices away. And don’t forget to get a receipt. You can deduct the value of your donations from next year’s taxes.
3. Take It Back to Where It Began
Many electronics manufacturers and retailers like Best Buy, Sprint, Amazon, Office Depot and Staples manage in-house recycling programs. Often, the materials used in manufacturing electronic products can be recovered and reused, including, but not limited to plastic, glass and metals. A case in point: Apple Inc said it had re-captured over 2,200 pounds of gold (roughly $40 million) from recycled electronics in 2015 alone. The EPA website will guide you through the process of finding programs by product or company.
The list of charity, non-profit and for-profit organizations offering some kind of recycling program for electronic devices is expanding each year, making the idea of sustainable electronics a reality.
