Give Your Gadgets A Green Burial

The average American household has 25 electronic gadgets. According to an article by Mickey Meece, NYTimes, a November report, Tackling High-Tech Trash, from Demos, a public policy organization focused on economic fairness and sustainability, cited government data showing that Americans owned three billion electronic products, with a turnover rate of about 400 million units each year. The astounding news is that the report states that less than 14% of these gadgets are recycled. We are being very irresponsible with our e-trash.

Give Your Gadgets a Green Burial

There are many ways to recycle those old gadgets. If you are moving, now is the time to sell those gadgets on CraigsList, donate or give away those unwanted electronic gadgets. Organizations that either recycle or refurbish those devices are a good way to pass along the gadget when you upgrade to a newer device. Best Buy will take your small devices for free to recycle, and only charge you $10 for a device with a screen. The good news though, is that they will give you an instant $10 store credit to spend. Slightly used items can be traded in for a gift card. Certain big TVs and appliances can be hauled away for a fee. The removal is free if the customer buys a newer appliance from Best Buy to replace the old one. Dell is partnering with Goodwill Industries to make it easier to donate used computer equipment. Most cell phone service providers will take your used phone, but there are also many places that will take them as a donation and turn them into emergency 911 cell phones programs. See my blog, Free Cell Phones for 911 Calls. Elizabeth Grossman, author of the book High Tech Trash (2007, Island Press), said the manufacturer take-back programs, which the coalition grades annually, should be a consumers first stop. I like the idea that it closes the loop on the product lifecycle for the manufacturer, she said.

Approximately two dozen states have passed laws mandating the recycling of electronic waste. According to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, All of the laws except for Californias require the manufacturer to pay for recycling. New Jerseys law took effect on Jan. 1, while New Yorks law comes into force on April 1. It seems like we need more states to participate in the recycling of all these electronic gadgets. As responsible consumers, we should take the initiative ourselves, but lets face it. Americans are slow to do the right thing. We need a bit of nudging.

Is a bad battery forcing you to upgrade your cell phone or camera? That is what cell phone service providers are telling you. You can buy an inexpensive replacement battery for most of your electronic devices at batteries4less.com and save yourself a lot of money, as well as the learning curve of a new device. Best of all you can drop off your battery or mail it back and batteries4less will recycle it for you.

No matter what your electronic needs are, you can act responsibly. Recycle and give those devices a nice green burial. Have green ideas to sharelet us know.