I’ve been accumulating old electronics for about a decade now and I really need to safely dispose of them at this point. I know some cities have drop off spots for recycling, but the one near me charges a fee and appears to cater to business clients. Obviously I’m against tossing them in the bin. It’s small things, like an old iPod touch, Bluetooth speaker etc. What do you all do with your old Ewaste?
Edit: Whew. I’m tired after a long day of…you guessed it…work. Great suggestions in this thread. Thanks y’all!
If you have old batteries or something like a UPS that is mostly a battery you can (and should) take it to a battery recycling center. A general recycling center near me does that, but also some stores like Best Buy will collect and recycle them too. Years ago I dropped off a non-functioning UPS there and it was super simple. I would have felt terrible throwing that away in the trash.
I keep a few old phones as spares but if I don’t use them, they get recycled. I have a ton of electronics that aren’t used, but could still be for the right project. It’s nice to have parts whenever you need them.
I recall official (not 3rd party) Verizon stores having a receptacle for old phone disposal. Even try AT&T or T Mobile as old electronic disposal is quite routine for all three.
I save them up to make a broth for soups
This is my favorite answer. Even my wife, who complains about all the old electronics I save, laughed.
I know that there’s a place at UCLA where you can drop them on certain days, run by the LA Sanitation Department, but I tried googling and it was buried under listings that, like you said, charge a fee and cater to businesses. (They’re interested in 20 computers, not your meager hoard.) So maybe your city does have something but it’s listed under Hazardous Waste. If you already know where to drop old solvents and meds, it might be there or they might know.
Check your local recycling centers to see if they take it. My local one takes ewaste for free (as well as water-based paint, motor oil, cardboard, paper, metal, and probably others). The local garbage company takes old batteries for free, you just need to put them in a Ziplock bag on top of the bin on collection day.
Depending on generation the iPod touch sells for $60-300 on EBay. I always check first if I can sell on EBay or Craigslist. I just sold an ancient Toshiba laptop for $100.
I have a bunch of old microwaves so sometimes I but batteries and other stuff and see what happens. If it’s a full pc, I save it until I need to relieve some stress and beat it to pieces with a shovel in my shop. After that I sometimes light it on fire. Whatever floats your boat!
Not admitting to nothing, but the scene in Office Space where they beat a printer to death; well, a 2x4 in '98 works just like a bat.
That happened.
Keep them in a drawer because “I’ll need them some day”(I don’t think I’ll actually need them)
Just this week I used a 20-year-old Radio Shack Canada Nexxtech 3.5mm mic/speaker USB connector and a DP-to-DVI connector I didn’t even know I had, in all the myriad tech junk I’m embarrassed to admit to hoarding.
In a bag. Under the stairs. Know as the tech graveyard
I would perform exploratory surgery before discarding it.
Most of mine are old computer components. I’ve taken some of them and made a home server, and the rest I keep around for builds for friends and family. Everything else I put in a bin for future projects
