What should I do with old electronics?
What should I do with old electronics?
I got a box full of a bunch of stuff from over the years. Some big, some small, some expensive, some cheap. It seems like a shame to throw it all in a landfill, with or without personal data.
Does your country have an e-waste recycling scheme?
PLEASE don't send e-waste to a landfill!! There are components of e-waste that, if disposed of improperly, can add hazardous pollutants to your air and water, like mercury and beryllium.
If you want to make sure it's disposed of properly, google e-waste + your area, and look for programs run by your local or state/provincial government
Obviously the easiest thing to do is find use for some of these stuff. For example:
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Old phones can be repurposed into MP3 players or podcast players
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Tablets can be used as eBook readers, video players, or smart home terminals.
If non of those things can be used, then I would try and sell them. You can always find someone who is looking for spare parts online.
If they are not sold, I would open them up and extract whatever can be used. Then sort them into recyclable and unrecyclable categories and dispose of them responsibly. Don't forget the batteries, dispose of them correctly please.
Adding on to this:
Recyclable components can be recycled at electronics recycling facilities (those do exist). They'll typically handle everything about a device, except the battery if it's removable. So you don't need to worry about removing the housing or chassis, or anything like that.
Also, FYI, for large devices like TVs and CRTs, they may ask for a donation to dispose of it.
For the batteries (as well as light bulbs, even LED ones, because a lot of tech recycling places don't want to make distinctions between LED bulbs and fluorescent ones due to the mercury concerns), you'll want to try and find a hazardous materials drop location. Often they're sponsored by a government entity, like a health department or sheriff. You can also usually take old chemicals, paint, and expired medication.
Adding to your list some devices have open source projects that breath new life into them. For example an old kinect for an Xbox 360 can be used for motion tracking on a PC and, if I recall correctly, a webcam.
Another example is the LeapFrog Leapster GS running RetroArch.
A lot of it can be just fun novelty projects to do throughout a weekend
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Search for electronics recycling in your area. They’ll take stuff for free or a small fee, depending on what it is. They’ll dissect the stuff and reuse all the components
There are plenty of those places around me, and they advertise agressively everywhere. But there are also the metal scrapyards that will pay YOU for your e-waste. That's where most of these recycling places take the stuff you paid them to dispose of. If you want the service of having it picked up, I'd say fill your boots, but I will just go the scrapyard with a binful once in a while when I plan to be in the area.
You can donate to a local thrift store or charity shop.
I know you are joking but in case others do not know: DO NOT DO This.
Give those nuggets the 1-grit!!
/s
If it works, sell or donate it. If it doesn't work, you can see if it is worth repairing. If it's not, recycle it. You can check on your municipality's website on their waste management page to see if they recycle electronics.
If you do sell, donate, or recycle, make sure there is no data on the drives that you would miss, then wipe it. If you plan on recycling, you can take out the drive and destroy it. Magnets and paper shredders are helpful.
9yo me: Build a robot!
38yo me: Yeah, build a robot!
Send em to me lol
It depends what country you are in. In the UK a retailer must accept electronic items for recycling (or provide you with the details of a free recycling service) The local council will have a recycling service (in most areas small appliances can be left out with your recycling bin). For items which might have a value there are companies that will buy them from you for a small amount and then recycle.
Please do not take them to a charity shop without checking beforehand as many cannot afford the testing needed before they can resell.
Do everything possible to make sure no personal data exists and then e waste dispose in your community or just post it to ebay dirt cheap - you can often get the shipping costs covered and bump your review number up this way. I've had some electronics die where I was not able to get personal info cleared off. In those cases I smash them up with a hammer, box them up and ewaste dispose of the box ( surface pro sadly met this fate recently).
The ocean is a biiiiiiiiiig area... I mean all the cool companies are doing it! /s
