New Technology always leads to throwing out of the older gadgets that you have been using earlier. All electronics are made of certain deadly substances such as beryllium, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Disposing of these chemical wastes is very important as these chemicals increase the chance of these chemicals contaminating the soil and polluting the air. In some countries, local dealers are always ready to take the old gadgets and give cash in return. By the time e wastes are dumped in a landfill, it reaches to the water bodies and it contaminates the groundwater with its increased toxic levels. There are certain ways of getting rid of your old electronic gadgets. Some of these are listed as under:
1. Giving your electronic waste to any certified dealer
There are positive aspects of e recycling and it has some benefits of its own. You have to find an e waster certified officially by Basel Action Network (wiki). BAN works as a non-profit organization that is dedicated to recycling all the e-waste responsibly and safely. All the members of the organizations take a pledge and so working with a recycler means that you will not have any worry about pollution and you will not lose your clients to any potential crimes. Some precautions to take before giving it to dealers are listed as under:
- Upgrade your computers or you can try replacing it.
- Formatting of all the old documents before starting fresh.
- Taking out old batteries from the gadgets and getting rid of them before selling these gadgets.
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2. Passing the gadgets to someone else
Many old gadgets are not in use necessarily and you can get rid of the same by selling them at stores dealing with refurbished or second-hand gadgets. There are many companies like Re Globe and Cashify always working and selling old gadgets. Many representatives are going to check the condition of these gadgets and accordingly, they get it from the customers and pay cash.
The other way is taking the old gadgets and exchanging them in the purchase of new ones. There are much exchange offers with sites like Amazon and Walmart and they give exchange offers of old gadgets from time to time. All of these old devices are sanitized and they are sold off at lower prices.
3. Donating all the outdated technology
Old gadgets that are not useful to you may be useful to others and they might need them. So before selling off your outdated gadgets, make a list of whether you wish to donate it or sell it off. Your old computer might be a great use to an NGO or students just learning with computers. Before disposing of the technology, you can ask yourself two questions:
- Is the gadget working fine?
- Does the computer have any of your personal information?
Many organizations are starting with electronic administration programs; if you wish to donate your old gadgets, you can do it in this manner. You can work with these groups and in place get your old gadgets donated so that you can buy new ones.
4. Hosting of an electronics drive
If you have too many of your old gadgets lying up, then you can try hosting an electronics drive. You can do it with the employer you are working for and it becomes easy for selling old electronics, audio equipment, laptops, TVs, etc. Take a list of all the recyclers that deal with hosting an electronic drive and then after collecting all the items over a course of time, recycle all in bulk in your organization. This is one of the good ways of disposing of all your old electronics.
5. Sending it back to the manufacturer
Nowadays, so many companies like Apple, Dell, HP, etc. take back all their old electronics and you can exchange the same for the new ones. They will take back their things and recycle them just the way they like it. They will know the basics of recycling and they can also use it for other purposes in their company. You might be lucky enough to get a gift card or voucher for purchasing a new device in place of the old ones.
The best thing you can do is take the Apple or other companies’ products to the nearest store and they will create a shipping label for the same. IBM also leads to the facilitating of all the recycled goods to different places in various states. Dell is only in partnership with Goodwill and their take backs are very different and it is limited to all the other ones.
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6. Selling it on Craiglist or eBay
Try going to old school and use social media platforms for selling your old electronics. There are various platforms like Craiglist, Facebook, classified ads, or even other local communities. It is not uncommon to find people who want to make use of old devices either for resale or even for taking the better working parts of the devices. Sometimes parents are also looking for cheap iPhones or other gadgets for their children. Through these platforms, they can come to know of all these devices easily.
While there is no such guarantee that the buyers will only dispose of such devices to the ones in need of it, but also selling of the devices give it a second or even a third life to be used by someone else. Those who can afford lesser price devices can avail of the benefits of the same.
7. Trading it
Many shopping sites like Amazon, Walmart, etc. deal with exchanging and trading of the old devices for the new ones or even for cash. These companies are constantly refurbishing, selling, or exchanging their old devices. For getting started, enter in all the details of your device in the quotes given to you. You can ship the same only by using prepaid labels and shipping is done through good courier services. In return, you will receive money either through PayPal or gift cards. It can be anything that you send like tablets, phones, TVs, desktops, or any other Apple wearables.
8. Deleting all the data properly
Selling off all your old electronic devices to the dealer can turn out to be dangerous if you don’t delete all your data properly and safely. If it gets into the wrong hands, then they can misuse your data and you will fall into trouble. Some people have high technical skills who can make use of it inappropriately. So, before giving your devices to the dealer, delete all of your data and private information. Do multiple formats and then give it to the dealers for taking it off.
Why should you take care of e-waste?
It has been estimated that by 2021, there will be about 5.51 million metric tons of chemical wastes causing a lot of environmental and other types of pollution. With the growing quantity of e-waste, most are made of toxic materials pollution, land, soil, earth, etc. The hazardous substances found in the old devices are also detrimental to human health; they should be disposed of as much as possible.
“Proper recycling is a must when dealing with disposals for safeguarding the environments from all means. Knowing all the waste disposal techniques can help individuals in reducing wastes as much as possible.” – as mentioned by Graham Wollaston, the CEO of R3eWaste, in one of his recent articles.
Advantages of recycling eco waste
- Minimizing of pollution: E-waste creates a lot of toxic chemicals harmful to human beings. Those surrounding these toxic wastes are always at risk of diseases. Once e wastes are allowed to remain on land, it contaminates the ground. So, recycling is the best way out of reducing pollution as well.
- Lowering of landfill space: For opting for electronic waste recycling, you are lowering on the landfill which are areas needed for covering waste materials. When these areas are reduced, it can be used for agriculture or even for other purposes as well.
- Preventing of long-term damages: Due to chemicals like lithium, mercury, glass, nickel, etc. many causes long term damage to both animals and the environment. Pets and other animals eat these chemicals leading to their deaths. It affects livestock’s and their meat products affect healthy kids as well. With the use of recycling, these long-term damages can be prevented to a great extent.
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Conclusion
When you are not using your old devices, it is better to get rid of or else it gets accumulated in houses not having many places of keeping them. In the prospect of the environment also, disposing of old electronics seems like the safest thing. And nothing can be best than recycling it. Almost all the dealers to whom these devices are sold also believe in recycling the materials for the betterment of the society. So, next time you have such an old device, give it to the dealers for recycling; the e-waste will lessen in the society.
