Recycle Your Electronics

Global Warming, what could we do to help prevent it from happening? Of course, we recycle our cans, plastic bottles, and much more things. But what most people don't know, is that you can actually recycle your electronics! This could help out with global warming tremendously. People don't realize that every little thing can benefit our children's future and much more.

When recycling, you can do the following:
Search For An Electronics Recycler in Your Area
Important Considerations:

* Reuse is Preferable, but Don’t Dump Your Junk!

The NCER encourages reuse of working, newer equipment as the first option for used electronic equipment, and has listed several non-profit and other reuse programs below. However, many of these programs are unable to handle broken or severely outdated equipment. It is always advisable to call ahead to see if your used equipment meets that program’s needs.

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Protect Your Data

If you are reusing or recycling a laptop or desktop computer, your personal data could still be on your hard drive. Most recyclers have hard drive wiping policies, but it is always in your best interest to protect your personal information by erasing or destroying your hard drive. There are many hard drive wiping software programs available. You can read more about the importance of hard drive erasure as well as do a comparison of some of the more popular software programs by going to Tech Soup’s website at: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/software/page5726.cfm

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Call Ahead

Many recyclers are not set up to take small loads of computer and electronic equipment – many deal strictly in e-cycling on a commercial level. As a result, you should contact recyclers ahead of time to ensure that they can receive your equipment. A few handy search engines for electronics recyclers are included on this page.

How to Choose an Electronics Recycler:



Sometimes it’s not easy to tell who is a responsible recycler and who is not. One of the best ways to choose a recycler is to rely on the recommendations of credible environmental groups. For example, several recyclers have signed the Computer Take Back Campaign’s Electronics Recycler’s Pledge of True Stewardship, formally committing them to responsible electronics recycling practices. Go to http://www.ban.org/pledge/electronics_recycler_pledge.pdf to view a list of these recyclers.

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