Electronic waste is a growing problem that’s going to lead all of us to an environmental catastrophe one day if we don’t all start working toward a solution now. Every year, we discard several million tons of old computers, televisions, mobile phones, printers and other pieces of obsolete technology. Some of those items end up in landfills. Others end up being shipped to developing nations that lack the facilities to process e-waste safely. Either way, plastics and heavy metals end up making workers ill and contaminating groundwater.
Our dependence on electronics isn’t going to end, and the manufacturers of the world aren’t going to stop tempting us each year with new and improved products. Therefore, we’re always going to have a constant trickle of old gadgets for which there are no convenient and environmentally friendly disposal options. One day – and hopefully it’ll be soon – some company will make a fortune by coming up with a better solution for processing e-waste. Until then, though, we all need to do our part in helping to ensure that old electronics don’t end up in landfills. Here are just a few ways that you can stop contributing to the growing e-waste crisis.
Find a Local E-Waste Facility
If you have some old electronics for which you’re certain you have no further use, the first thing that you should do is try to find a local e-waste facility that accepts those products for recycling. If you live in or near a major metropolitan area, there’s a good chance that you have a few local facilities from which to choose. That’s a good thing because it’s never safe to assume that a given facility processes e-waste in a manner that’s environmentally sound.
Some facilities may simply strip the circuit boards of their recoverable precious metals and ship the remaining waste overseas. That’s not really a solution for the e-waste crisis because those items will ultimately end up in landfills. Regardless of where those landfills are, they’ll end up affecting all of us eventually. So, before you start dropping your old electronics off at a recycling facility, you should ask plenty of questions about how the facility processes e-waste.
If you’re unable to find a local e-waste recycling facility, your next best option is to check with a major store such as Target or Walmart. Many large stores accept used batteries, phones, cameras and printer cartridges for recycling.
Another thing to remember is that when a company markets a product that’s specifically designed to be disposable, that company will often offer recycling services for its products. That’s true of many printer manufacturers along with some of the makers of the best disposable vapes.
Refurbish and Donate Your Used Electronics
Before you start dropping off your used electronics for recycling, you should consider the possibility that those items may not be as useless as you think they are. Many old smartphones, for instance – even ones that are several years old – are still sufficient for telephone and texting services and will still run most apps with acceptable performance. Likewise, almost any computer made in the past decade will still run Windows 10 or Linux and can still be useful for work, web browsing and email. There are probably many less fortunate people in your city – perhaps even in your family – who can use those items but can’t afford to pay for them.
- Start by preparing your item for a new owner. A phone will often have a built-in hardware reset feature that erases the built-in storage and returns the phone to its initial setup screen. Preparing a computer for a new owner requires a little more work because you need to use an application that securely erases the hard drive to prevent the possible recovery of your private data. Once you’ve erased the hard drive, you can use the computer’s operating system image to restore the original Windows installation. Alternatively, you can download and install a free Linux distribution.
- Ask your friends and family members if they can use your old phone or computer. If all of the people you know are happy with their current devices, you can donate your unwanted items to a local goodwill store instead. You’ll probably be eligible for a small tax deduction if you go that route.
- Alternatively, you can always sell your unwanted electronics on eBay. On eBay, there are always plenty of buyers for used mobile phones. For example, almost any older iPhone model that still works and is in decent cosmetic condition will fetch around $100. The same is true of most notebook computers. Desktop computers aren’t easy to ship. However, you can always open a desktop computer and sell the CPU, motherboard, RAM, video card and other components as spare parts. When you’re done parting the computer out, you’ll have an empty metal case that’s easy to recycle. Given the current semiconductor shortage, your computer’s components may be worth more than you think.
Find New Uses for Your Old Gadgets
Before you recycle, sell or give away your old gadgets, you should consider the possibility that those items could still be useful for you. When people buy new computers and phones, it often has little to do with any pressing need. Instead, we buy those items for better gaming performance or simply because we like to enjoy the latest and greatest gadgets. If you have an older computer or storage device, though, there are still several potential uses for that hardware.
- You can add old hard drives to your home’s network and use them as a streaming media server or for backing up your documents and pictures. Even if you’re already using a cloud-based backup service, having a local backup solution is still a good idea for maximum security.
- You can create a retro gaming machine by installing emulators on an old computer and connecting it to your television.
- You can connect unused computers to the Internet and donate your spare computing power for scientific research. Alternatively, you can add your computers to a mining pool and use them for mining cryptocurrency.
