Recycling Your IT

What does it mean to recycle electronics?

2010-05-20

In an effort to help the environment and go green many people have been looking into recycling electronics. But what exactly does this mean, and how can you go about it successfully and safely? Take a look at some basic information related to electronic recycling and what it all means.

Recycling electronics is a bit different from recycling that plastic water bottle you were just drinking out of or that newspaper you read over the weekend. That’s because you don’t just toss your old electronics into a recycling bin so somebody picks them up and hauls them down to the centre.

Electronics are considered e-waste and it’s a different ballgame when dealing with them for many reasons. They often have components that can break down and harm the environment, and they need to be disassembled and handled in the appropriate fashion.

The good news is that when you decide to recycle electronics a lot of those minerals and components can be reused. Computers and other hardware have valuable metals and other elements within their parts, as do various other electronics as well. These can be safely stripped from the machine and reused elsewhere, while their plastic or metal frames and construction can also be recycled.

You can also recycle electronics by donating them to others. You might need an upgraded computer for your office, but your old model could still be really valuable to somebody in need and without the means to get one for themselves. The same goes for items such as cell phones, televisions, computer printers and more.

So clearly recycling electronics is a bit different from other recycling, and takes a little more effort, but it can make a huge difference.