According to Gazelle, the nation’s largest electronics “reCommerce” company, Americans throw away 130,000 computers a day. That doesn’t include the thousands of copiers, printers and fax machines discarded each day from offices just like yours. (Or the 100 million cell phones disposed of each year.)
If you’re upgrading your computer, please don’t throw it away! Besides the parts that aren’t biodegradable, there are other parts that leech toxic chemicals into the soil and contaminate our groundwater. Take advantage of Gazelle or a similar service; see if they will pay you for your old desktop or laptop, or offer free shipping to recycle your worthless computer when combined with another item.
When it comes to your other office equipment, however, Gazelle can’t help. They just don’t deal with those devices. But don’t despair! (And don’t toss them on the trash heap.)
For many years, as our clients’ equipment has aged and we’ve replaced them with newer models, we’ve taken the old units and turned them in to the few e-waste recyclers in the area. In recent days, however, that’s gotten easier for us, as organizations like schools and service groups have partnered with the recyclers and offer “e-waste recycling days” as part of their fundraising efforts.
Finding out about those events can be difficult; we usually only know about them as a result of seeing a banner announcing the event as we drive around. Today, though, we’re posting a new page on the site to let you know about your e-waste recycling options and we’ll keep it updated with upcoming recycling drives as we find out about them. Please be sure to let us know about events in your area, too!
