Creative Changes Blog

Do you have a "collection" of old electronics in your basement or garage? Should you donate them, or should they just be disposed of? What is the correct way to dispose of this ever growing pile of old gadgets?

E-waste are items such as computer monitors, televisions, laptop computers and old cell phone batteries and they contain toxic substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium. Universal waste includes fluorescent tubes, printers, fax machines, VCRs, stereos, copiers and all household batteries. Disposing of these items requires special handling and they should not end up in our landfills where they will eventually leach out their toxic substances into our water tables.

So What are we to do with them?

I am very fortunate to live in a community that offers an Electronic and Universal Waste recycling event at least once a year. We also have Toxic waste (old paint, etc) recycling events, where we can drop off our unwanted items at a nearby, temporary station, and be assured that they will be disposed of in the proper manner. And its FREE.

If your community does not have such a program in place, maybe its time they did. Call your city hall and voice your concerns about reliable disposal of toxic items. There are other options available as well. Many responsible retailers, such as Staples and Circuit City offer drop boxes for old cell phones and ink cartridges. In addition, I have found a few web sites with more information and options for disposal.

http://www.ehso.com
http://www.nrc-recycle.org/resources/electronics
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov

Donating old electronics to your favorite charities has become more difficult because these charities do not want to take on the burden of disposing of items that do not work, so they may not accept any electronic devices, even if they are operable.

It is easy to see how this stuff can pile up, simply because we just don't know what to do with it. Many people don't want to throw away something that is still functional, which is understandable, but not practical when you consider how quickly most of these "gadgets" become out-dated, and how inexpensive they are to replace. If we are going to participate in the electronic age, we must accept the fact that planned obsolescence is unavoidable, and we must be responsible consumers.

Watch this blog for mor organizing tips.

Sandra

Labels: electronic clutter