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May 12, 2008
Recycling, Selling or Donating Your Old Electronics
More and more consumer electronic products are being sold every year, some of it with relatively short lives. Many folks get new cell phones and MP3 players every few years. And with the transition to digital-only broadcasts in February next year, there will be more and more old analog TVs that will no longer be used. (yes, I do know that you can buy a converter box so you can still use your analog TV after the transition, but many are purchasing new televisions.)
You shouldn't just throw away these products. Besides filling up land fills, many contain toxic materials such as lead, cadmium and beryllium.
OK what do you do?
Sell
Your trash might be someone else's treasure. A couple of years ago I ebayed over 30 pieces of old audio video and computer equipment. I really was amazed how much some of the stuff went for. It didn't end up in a landfill and I put a few $ in my pocket.
Donate
For computer equipment you might want to check out The Cristina Foundation. For over 20 years they have matched companies and individuals that that have unwanted computer products to charities, schools and public agencies that can use them.
Goodwill, The Salvation Army and other local non-profits often welcome donations of electronics products. I always call before I lug it.
If you donate or sell a computer, you should use a 'disk wiping' program to totally erase files and programs from the hard disk drive. There are many of these programs available (some are free). Try searching 'disk wiping' on google or download.com
Recycle
The best source of information that I have found for where to recycle your old electronics is the Environmental Protection Agency. Click here for an extensive list of links for recycling and donations.
Or do a google search for your town and recycling. Searching "Knoxville Tennessee Recycling" generated multiple places where I could take unwanted computers and electronics in my area.
What do you do with your old electronics?
Posted by Bob Gatton at May 12, 2008 2:02 PM
Comments
I have cell phone , fax/copy with phone, 2 msn tv equipment with keyboard and monitors, dish and equipment to go with it, and other electronic equipment I would like to sell for whatever anyone would give me a bid. How do I get to do this?
Posted by: Julie at May 16, 2008 3:00 PM
Julie,
Try ebay.com.
If you have never sold anything on ebay, I have a couple of suggestions:
- if you have a friend that regularly sells on ebay, ask them to help you get started.
- if you want to go it alone, go to ebay's 'getting started' section. Link:
http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/newsellers.html
Before you start selling your items, you should search ebay for others selling the same products. This can help you decide on the pricing, how to describe the item, etc. You might want to start with just one item, rather than listing multiple things.
Have fun, its not that hard to do.
Posted by: FrankT at May 16, 2008 3:35 PM
you can take some of your old stuff to Best Buy for recycling. This program is offered at 117 stores in Minnesota, San Francisco and Baltimore.
http://bestbuymedia.tekgroup.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4565
Posted by: FrankT at June 3, 2008 7:33 AM
