One of the hardest things you’ll try to do in today’s modern world is find a new home for your outdated electronics. Unless you already know someone who would graciously receive this sort of donation for their own personal use, then you’ll likely have to sift through the various options in order to find just how much your gadgets are worth and source someone who would be willing to take them off of your hands.
Fortunately, you’ll likely find that the majority of what you own and are looking to sell does indeed have some sort of resale value. These values can be found by searching free classified listing websites such as Gumtree, eBay, and Craigslist in order to determine just what sort of price you should set for your tech.
However, there will be times when you find that your gadgets aren’t worth all that much or the final sale price will likely be too low to justify the hassle of reselling. This is where recycling options come into play and disposing e-waste through recycling centres is an absolute necessity to ensure the proper safety precautions are carried out before committing electronic parts and wires to landfills.
You might think it’s easy just to lob your old computer, phone, or tablet into the bin and allow the binmen to carry it away with your weekly collection. While it’s indeed something that many people do, it’s something that needs to change and soon. By choosing to dispose of electronic waste in regular household collections, people are introducing hazardous materials and waste into soil that creates a toxicity issue later on. Many landfills are closed when they reach capacity and housing developers are allowed to build on this ground later on. This isn’t possible when hazardous waste is present in the soil and the nightmares that follow trying to balance the soil’s nutrients into a safe level for human habitation is costly, time consuming, and even more damaging to the environment than it would be to follow the right recycling protocol to begin with.
There are different options to explore when it comes to recycling programs and this is what you can expect to find when recycling your old electronics:
- Retailers
Retailers that specialize in selling electronics are legally obliged to take old, unwanted equipment in return in order to properly dispose it. Dell was the pioneer of this process and started accepting e-waste nearly 20 years ago. They will take back any computer equipment regardless of the brand when you choose to purchase a new Dell system. You’re also able to return Dell-branded equipment at any time and the company covers the associated shipping and handling costs of accepting e-waste.
Apple also follows current e-waste legislation, but has limited itself to only accepting Apple-related e-waste from its computers, tablets, and phones. Some Apple retail stores also provide trade in values for older electronic equipment. However, recycling through this trade-in doesn’t tend to yield the best value that Apple gadgets tend to hold. Apple retail stores will almost always pay a much lower price for their older electronics than what could be found online. It is usually best to explore alternative options such as those found on www.sellmyphone.co.uk in order to find the best deal for your unwanted phone or tablet.
There are also recycling retailers that specialize in commercial recycling projects. It is not unusual to find refurbished electronics through these retailers who accept old systems and components from businesses in order to redeploy them in private households. It is sometimes possible to deliver your unwanted goods to these businesses, but it’s often uneconomical for recyclers to personally collect your electronics.
There are also several charities that willingly accept electronics for donating onward in your local community. Computer Aid International based in London is an example of these charities who accept old hardware and electronics in order to redeploy them elsewhere in the world. Again, it is not possible for most charities to personally collect your equipment and you’ll have to make arrangements to deliver or drop it off at their company’s premises.
- Local Councils
Not all local councils accept e-waste and it’s important you check with your local authority to determine their e-waste status. There are also usually charges associated with recycling electronics at a local council facility and even some security concerns as hard drives have been recovered from council recycling programs that still contain sensitive information belonging to their previous owners. Regardless of the option you choose, it is extremely important to delete all of your personal data from the system by either formatting the hard drive or physically removing it from the system.
There are worthwhile options to explore when it comes time to upgrade your tech and dispose of your older electronics. It’s no longer a worthwhile option to simply throw it in the bin and allow nature to take its course. The environmental impact doing this far outweighs taking the time to properly dispose e-waste and you should know exactly what you’re going to do prior to upgrading your electronics.