Over the holidays, many of us received new electronics ranging from battery packs and cell phones to gargantuan televisions — often replacing devices already owned. So what to do with the old items?
Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing problem with significant impacts on the environment, landfill usage and overall human health. According to Boston Consulting Group, up to 85% of e-waste in the United States ends up in a landfill and is not properly recycled.
E-waste has several valuable minerals such as gold, silver and copper that can be reused with proper recycling — curtailing environmental damage and saving natural resources.
Instead of throwing your e-waste directly into the trash (which is illegal in California), do one of the following instead: sell, repurpose, donate or recycle.
You can sell old electronics via a garage sale or various online marketplaces. Or, take devices to an electronics refurbisher who may buy them from you. Old gaming consoles can be traded in at many gaming retailers. Check with your mobile phone provider about phones, tablets and accessories about credit toward new devices.
Repurposing devices into other functions is a great way to extend their lives. Laptops, computers and gaming consoles can become dedicated media centers to store and view pictures, video games, movies and other media. Pair gaming consoles with an old TV or monitor. Tablets and phones can be repurposed as digital picture frames and baby monitors.
Devices in working condition can be donated to a local charity. Hospitals and shelters may appreciate gaming consoles.
The last option is to properly dispose of a device especially those with batteries by recycling it. Did you know batteries can start fires? The most common cause of fires in trash trucks and facilities is lithium-ion batteries which are found in many rechargeable devices, like cell phones, laptops, and headphones. Batteries can easily ignite when damaged and contain hazardous ingredients that can leak under certain conditions so proper disposal is essential. When we trash our portable devices and their batteries, we cannot reuse the beneficial and often rare material they contain into new products.
Republic Services hosts a free household hazardous waste collection center at 17121 Nichols Lane (Gate 6) in Huntington Beach. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; closed major holidays. The collection center takes all e-waste and other hazardous waste. In addition, the Fountain Valley Community Foundation holds a bi-annual e-waste collection at the recreation center. The next event is May 18.
One last and important note: Make sure to factory reset, erase data and remove SIM cards from devices before passing them along.