It’s Earth Day 2016! Safely Recycle Your Unwanted Devices and Score Some $ Too!

Earth Day is just two days away so I thought it would be a good time to write about the subject of discarding unused technology. It sounds rather tedious but you won’t be bored, I promise. This is important – and it just may lead to a couple of more bucks in your pocket. Read on …

If you’re like me, you have an assortment of old cellphones and computers taking up valuable real estate on a basement shelf. These devices contain cadmium, mercury, chromium and lead glass. all of which are potentially toxic. Discarding them into landfills would just have all that nasty stuff seeping into the ground. Also, I’m pretty sure dumping devices is illegal in many locations, just the same as dumping batteries is. It is where I live. My state has recycling locations where I can bring my old electronics, but I’ve learned that now there are places that’ll pay me for old technology.

But before I line my pockets, let’s get back to the earth. It’s almost Earth Day, after all.

Here are a few cold, hard and unsettling facts:

In 2014, the world threw away $52 billion of e-waste. (Yup, there’s a name for it.)

In that year, the U.S. alone accounted for 7.8 million tons for e-waste according to a report from the United Nations University. (The UNU is a research arm of the UN.)

While e-waste represents 2% of the trash in U.S. landfills, it equals 70% of overall toxic waste, according to an article entitled “iWaste” by Giles Slade that was published in Mother Jones in 2007.

For every 1 million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 pounds of copper; 772 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold can be recovered, according to a 2015 study by the EPA.

So there’s gold in them thar devices. How can you cash in and still do something good for Mother Earth?

I’ll get there, but before I do, you must do a couple of things before you recycle any of your devices.

You must wipe them clean. And I don’t mean with a rag. Make sure to delete all information on your mobile phone and computer. Since you’re recycling, you don’t want the next user of your cell phone to have ownership of your contacts, passwords and/or selfies. But first, back them up, if you haven’t already done so when you got your new device.

Ok, so now what?

Check out Gazelle.com, a site that offers cash for buying your pre-owned consumer electronics. They pay cash for used smartphones, tablets, desktops and laptops. The process is easy – just look up your old device on Gazelle.com and receive a cash offer. Gazelle sends packaging materials and pays shipping costs. Then, just wait for a payment by your choice of check, Amazon.com Gift Cards or PayPal. You can even sell a device that’s not in the best shape. For example, if your iPhone 6+ does not power on, Gazelle will pay $50 for it. The same iPhone in good condition will garner $240. Screen prompts on the website will steer you through the process. Gazelle will then certify your unwanted device and resell it. So, check them out if you accidentally smash your no-longer-under-warrantied iPhone 6s+ and don’t want to spend a ton of money on a new one while you wait for the latest release from Apple.

Or, check out ecoATM kiosks that offer another way to get instant cash for unwanted electronics. You can find an ecoATM at many stores and malls nationwide. (A quickie zip code search turned up 9 ecoATM kiosks within a short driving distance from my house.)  Simply plug an old smartphone, mp3 player, or tablet into the machine and receive cash for it right from the dispenser. It’s also a great way to safely dispose of broken phones so they can get recycled properly. Here’s a short video explaining exactly how ecoATM works because a picture is worth, you know.

All right then, together we’ve learned how to safely recycle our unwanted devices and make a couple of bucks doing so and, most important of all, protect the earth for ourselves, our children and all living things that inhabit it. Good job – and not boring at all!

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