The Christmas season is a common time to be receiving all kinds of new toys and gadgets. Children are the perfect candidate for a new games console and teens usually love new smartphones. Perhaps you’ve even bought yourself a new laptop or TV to use. However, as we grow our collection of electronics and trade the old for the new, it’s important to consider how we dispose of our older devices.
Why should we care about how we dispose of our older electronics?
The most obvious option would be to dispose of electronics that you no longer need. However, there are plenty of issues with this:
● Disposing of electronics in a landfill is bad for the environment due to the toxic chemicals that are found in things like batteries. Chemicals such as lead, mercury and chromium can be found in older electronics that will harm the environment as they’re crushed and leak into the soil, poisoning the environment.
● There’s a lot of value in older electronics, especially if it’s been kept in good condition. You can easily recover some of the cost of older electronics and put it towards other things, and for collector’s items, you can often get a price that is greater than what you paid for it. It’s worth checking online to see the prices of the electronics that you plan to sell or dispose of.
● There are many programmes that can assist you in donating older electronics so that they can be used for educational purposes. It’s worth looking on the internet to see if there are any local or national services that are willing to pick up your outdated or unneeded electronics.
Much like how we recycle plastics and paper into new goods, we can also recycle a lot of components in older electronics if they’re no longer usable. Even if it’s broken or doesn’t boot up anymore, you can still salvage a lot of components or raw materials from those devices. However, it’s important to speak to a professional service in order to ensure that they can recycle your old IT items ethically and without damaging the environment.
Recycling or disposing of old IT items
The best way to dispose of old IT items is to see if anyone else wants it for a reduced price or even for free. For instance, you can donate an old laptop of yours to your child or another family member that needs it. You could also consider selling them on websites such as eBay. This is usually the better option if you’ve got something valuable, such as a collector’s item or hard-to-find electronic item that is in good condition.
Eco-friendly electronics recycling still a relatively small industry, so it’s a good idea to look around for different options if you plan to throw out unusable goods or IT items that aren’t worth much money. Again, a professional service will ensure that they’re being disposed of properly and will reduce the chances of your goods being disposed of in a landfill where the chemicals can leak into the surrounding environment.