Recycling Scrap Electronics

While recycling used to be inaccessible to people in some parts of the United States, most waste disposal companies now have some form of recycling program. Because of the dangerous materials contained in electronics, like lead in tube televisions, for example, and mercury in the circuit boards of computers, it is vital to the health of our groundwater and our soils to dispose of electronics properly at a designated recycling facility. In most parts of the country, you can easily find collection centers for your electronics.

Instructions

• 1

  Contact a local charity via telephone or Internet to find out whether they are accepting electronics of the sort you are trying to get rid of. Organizations like Goodwill, Planned Parenthood and the United Way may have local programs that refurbish old electronics to be given to people in need. Call around and ask whether you can drop off your electronics. Sometimes charities will even come pick them up from your home.

• 2

  Contact your garbage and recycling service to learn their policy on electronics recycling. Some trash companies, like the national chain Waste Management, team up with electronics companies to offer collection centers for your discarded electronic items. Your trash hauler may not pick up electronics at the curb, but may have a drop-off location.

• 3

  Contact your local electronics store, or the electronics company you originally bought the electronics from, to find out if they have an e-waste recycling program in your area. Sony, Dell, Epson, Apple and many other brands have e-waste recycling programs through which they accept their old electronics. If you have multiple items of different brands, you may be able to recycle them with one electronics maker by paying a fee to recycle the items that do not carry their name. Contacting each electronics company may be inconvenient and transporting each item to its respective maker may be the most cumbersome way to recycle your goods, but if it's the only method possible, it's still worth the effort.

• 4

  Collect your electronics and prepare them for recycling. If you have a computer, be sure to erase all your data and personal information before recycling. Be sure to place all items in a secure box or bag that will not encourage breakage. Since computers and other electronics contain mercury, you don't want them breaking in transport and potentially exposing you to their toxic fumes.

• 5

  Transport the electronics to the collection center carefully, or if possible, arrange to have them picked up from your home.