A Holiday Gift to All: Recycle Your Old Electronics (and Get Cash Back) Here are some tips for recycling electronics and finding companies that offer recycling credits when you buy new products. [Consumer Reports Electronics]
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Recycle electronics… what is that? I’m married to a computer engineer so all of our old electronics are in the spare bedroom. My last count was 3 computers, 1 monitor and a drawer full of old cell phones, mp3 players and maybe even a CD player.
@frodoUnderhill: And the parts! We have so many sticks of RAM we could probably start building things from them.
I’ve been looking for a good place to donate some old but usable computer equipment I have lying around, and I came across a great place to do just that this morning. I donated a G4 Powerbook I wasn’t using anymore to the National Cristina Foundation, which gives computer equipment to non-profits that provide training opportunities for disabled and disadvantaged children all over the country. Seems like a much better thing to do with usable computers than let them sit or just trash them.
In my county you have to pay to recycle electronic waste. I’ve done this with computers because it’s the right thing to do. But I would certainly do it more if it didn’t cost so much. I have a closet full of old crap that I’d like to dispose of at some point.
When we bought our new tv, months ago now, we took our old dead one to Best Buy for their program. You pay $10, they haul the thing off and give you a $10 gift card. I wish more companies advertised programs like these- I had to look around to find it. I just didn’t feel right leaving the old heap of junk of the side of the road for the city bulk pickup gusy to have to deal with.
There’s a place here that recycles computers. I think you have to pay a fee to dispose of the monitor, but the whole place is dedicated to stripping and recycling them. It’s awesome.
Los Angeles county does recycling of electronics for free: [ladpw.org]
But if things still work, consider wiping hard drives or SIM card and donating to charities, like women’s shelters, Goodwill, etc. Many of these places can use them to help people get back on their feet.