What to do with old electronics

[Lorien]

What to Do with Old Electronics
November 2004

Rapid advances in technology come with a price: the equally rapid pace of obsolescence. The average lifespan of a computer, for example, will have dropped from 4.5 years in 1992 to approximately two years by 2005.

As a result, "e-waste"—discarded computers, TVs, cell phones, and other electronics—comprises one to four percent of the municipal solid waste stream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. What's worse, this equipment is often made from non-renewable resources and contains hazardous chemicals including lead, chromium, cadmium, and mercury.

Here are some ways you can cut down on this e-waste:

Buying

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Before you buy replacement technology, assess your current equipment. Can you improve your computer's performance with a memory or video card upgrade? Do you need a cell phone with all the newest features when your old one works just fine? Is it worth buying a new portable CD player if you eventually want an MP3 player?
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Choose a product that has all the features you will need for the foreseeable future, has space to add components such as memory if needed, or takes the place of two separate gadgets (for example, you could consolidate equipment by buying a cell phone with integrated personal organizer, or a printer with integrated scanner or fax).
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Purchase used or refurbished electronics (but be aware that these products might not come with a warranty).

Reusing

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Before discarding obsolete electronics, find out whether a local repair shop, electronics training program, or even a technologically inclined friend or family member could use it for parts or practice.
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Consider donating used electronics to a nonprofit organization or school. Some organizations, for example, reprogram used cell phones for emergency use by senior citizens or victims of domestic violence. Computers that are less than five years old should be donated through an electronics refurbisher (see the link below), who will clean out old files and software and ensure all of the components are running properly. Computers that are more than five years old should be recycled, since software and technical support for older systems is difficult to find.

Recycling

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General electronics: Many cities and towns now offer electronics recycling as part of their household hazardous waste collection program. Contact your local public works department to find out what equipment it will accept and on what days; some charge a small fee per item.
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Computers: If your town does not accept computers, look for a commercial recycler that can break down and distribute usable components and dispose of the rest properly (see the links below).
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Cell phones: Many cell phone manufacturers and service providers will take back used phones for reuse or recycling.



You might be able to upgrade your computer hardware instead of buying an entirely new system.



For more information:

EPA—ECycling
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling/

High Tech Goes Green
http://www.futurenet.org/article.asp?id=596

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
http://www.svtc.org

Computer Take Back Campaign
http://www.computertakeback.com

Ten Tips for Donating a Computer
http://www.techsoup.org/products/recycle/articlepage.cfm?ArticleId=524

MAR Refurbishers
https://www.techsoup.org/mar/mars.asp

Electronic Industries Alliance—Cell Phone Recycling and Donation Programs
http://www.eiae.org/whatsnew/news.cfm?ID=100

EPA—Computer Take Back Options
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/epr/products/computers.html

Recycling Resources
http://www.cio.com/archive/041503/tl_resources.html

Electronic Industries Alliance—National Database of Reuse and Recycling Programs
http://www.eiae.org

More info: http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/green_tips.cfm?publicationID=948

[cally]

1. Two ideas..The Body Shop accepts old cell phones

and gives them to battered women. Local schools accept older computers to rehabilitate and then give to teens who can't afford computers. Much better than throwing older stuff away.

[politicat]

2. If you gotta buy, buy top end portables.

I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but if you buy a low end computer that can't be upgraded easily, you'll be throwing it out or discarding it in 1-2 years. If you buy the top of the line, you can use it for four or more years before it becomes obsolete.

Portables, like lap and palm tops, consume less power and are more flexible for most needs. You can plug in external monitors, speakers, keyboards, etc to a laptop, and you can take a laptop to the park, which you can't do with a desk top. A high end laptop is expensive - 3-5 K, depending on options, but again, it can be used for a long time, and cascaded to a niece or child or school later. Laptops retain their utility longer than desktops, too. We had old Toshibas that were 6 years old when we bought the iBooks in 2000, and while they were not capable of many things, they were still useful for the things we needed them to do. They've since been sent on to the UN Technology Project, which put Linux on them and sent them to East Timor.

Laptops cannot be upgraded as easily as a desktop, but when you buy looking at the next four or six years instead of the next two, that can be worked around.

Pcat

[NMDemDist2]

3. i use a 4 year old laptop here. I love being able to unplug it from my

air desk at my easy chair and carry it into the kitchen with web recipes or pics

cracks hubby up to come into the kitchen and see the laptop sitting on the toaster oven with a recipe on it

also check out freecycle. we have a couple guys that use old PC's for kids and the disabled.. they are always looking for parts

[byronm]

4. Be careful of old electronics...

Its sometimes better to upgrade to save in efficiency and enerygy costs. Old PC's are notoriously thirsty for electricity.

I would agree that a laptop is better for energy efficiency - however the enegergy used in making the laptop is just as much as a pc (if not more) and the energy/cleanup of the batteries is something you have to be dilligent on.

A PC Running Windows XP with smart power saving features and an energy efficient 15 or 17inch monitor can't be beat.