USA Weekend: Five Things You Need to Know About Recycling Old Gadgets
Filed under: Earth 911 - April 13, 2008
By Kelly DiNardo
- Make smart purchases to begin with. “Support manufacturers who do take-back programs,” says Kim McKay, co-author of True Green at Work. Companies like Dell and Hewlett-Packard are among those that repurpose old products.
- Get paid to recycle. If your computer, cellphone or PDA is in working condition, sites such as MyBoneYard.com, GreenPhone.com and eBay’s trade-in site, eBay.EZtradein.com, will pay you or give you reward points to put toward purchases, says Josh Dorfman, author of “The Lazy Environmentalist.”
- Donate it. Schools and non-profits often use “retired” gadgets. Many police departments and shelters have cellphone donation bins. ReCellular.com helps consumers donate old cellphones. Donating benefits you, too, as a tax write-off.
- “Freecycle” it. The online community at Freecycle.org connects donors with recipients to reduce landfill waste and strengthen communities. “You’re on a listserve, and you can tell them you have an old computer or TV you don’t want anymore,” Dorfman explains. “It only goes out locally, so nothing gets shipped. They come to you and pick it up.”
- Recycle it. “If it’s broken and you can’t reuse it, donate it or freecycle it, head to Earth911.com,” Dorfman says. “They’ll give you drop-off locations to recycle your e-waste.”