How many of us have a pile of old phones stuffed into a drawer or a closet full of old computers? Most of us tend to hang onto our electronics after we upgrade them. Sometimes we hold onto them because of the data contained within them, others don’t know how to dispose of them properly and safely. In today’s post, we wanted to go over the various options for recycling your electronics.
Reason You Can’t Just Throw Away
When electronics are dumped in a landfill, they won’t just leave wires and plastic in the dirt. If inadequately disposed of, the e-waste can harm the environment. Your gadgets are made from toxic materials like lead, chromium, and flame retardants. These toxic materials can damage the human body byways of the kidneys, blood, or central nervous system. These toxins can also leak into groundwater or seep into the atmosphere when heated.
Dead Batteries
Single-use or rechargeable AA, AAA, and D batteries are standard in everyday life. There are several places you can go to dispose of them properly. Retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, Staples, Whole Foods, and Lowes all have spots to recycle dead batteries. For more information on recycling these batteries check out Earth911. They can help find a place near you to take those batteries off your hands.
Phones
Before you recycle any phone, make sure you perform a factory reset to get all of your data off the device. Also, you may want to remove the SIM card as well. Retailers like Best Buy, Lowes, and Home Depot also take phones. Check your local store to see what requirements they have before taking your phone. For example, Best Buy will only take three phones per household per day. You can also donate your phone to organizations like Secure the Call or Cell Phones for Soldiers. If your phone is in good working order, you can also sell it with companies like Gazelle or EcoATM.
Computers
Laptops and desktops are easy to recycle. If the device is less than five years old, chances are someone can still benefit from it. Locally, you can donate your computer to Computer For Kids. This local group of volunteers reconditions computers and provides them for people who do not have them. For other locations to donate or recycle your computers, check out Earth911.
Other Tech Stuff
We all have a drawer somewhere in our home that is full of cables that we have no idea where they belong. These can also be recycled. Best Buy, Staples, and other retailers will take your cables. Home Depot and Lowes will also take old cameras and camcorders. TVs also can be recycled, but if it is still working, consider donating it to a second-hand store.
We Can Help!
Bring all of your electronics to Computer Warriors, and we will happily recycle them for you. We work with partners who ensure the devices are disposed of properly. If you are holding on to a device with data on it, we can move it someone else for you before recycling it. We have three locations in the South Eastern North Carolina area: Jacksonville, Leland, and Wilmington.
If you found this article interesting or helpful, check out our other posts!