eWaste is quickly becoming a big problem for our landfills because all of those electronic devices start to leak toxic chemicals into the ground when they are buried. When a piece of electronics with metals and minerals is not recycled but rather left to decompose, it can cause problems in local groundwater supplies, and wells, and affect the wildlife that depends on that water.
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What is eWaste?
The term eWaste refers to those electronic devices that have outlived their usefulness and end up in landfills. Those items contain precious metals and other components that are very easy to recycle so it is really a waste of precious resources when these devices are not collected for spare parts or rebuilt.
5 easy ways to reduce eWaste
Think twice about purchasing new electronics
When you are getting that itch to upgrade your device, stop to think if there is anything you can do to your current technology like adding a new hard drive or more memory. Before you spend more money on the newest device and throw away the old one, ask yourself if you can still use the old device for a few more years or if it is really necessary to replace it and contribute to the growing piles of eWaste.
Sell your device
If you do decide to trade up and get rid of your old device, sell it to a company or individual who will either use it or recycle it properly. You choose to sell your device on your own by posting it on a marketplace like Craigslist or eBay or you can use a company like Gizmogo to sell your electronics quickly and painlessly. When you decide to sell your device to Gizmogo, they will send you a shipping label so you can ship all your electronic devices for sale to them. Once they receive it, they will have their experts take a look and assess what the item or items are worth. If you choose to accept the offer they give you, then you can get your cash transferred in as little as 24 hours. You don’t need to worry about your personal information because Gizmogo will wipe all of your devices clean.
Reuse or Donate your eWaste
Most of us don’t let our electronics run into the ground before we replace them. The majority of electronics that are replaced are perfectly usable and can be donated to an organization that will reuse or rebuild them. There are many people who need cell phones, tablets, or laptops but can’t afford them, so your workable device can go towards helping one of them. It doesn’t need to be a charity either, you can reuse your old cell phone and give it to a family member who may need a new phone. You can also use old phones or tablets for a GPS in the car or to play games over the home wifi. There are many ways to reuse or donate your eWaste that stop it from turning into toxic chemicals.
Recycle your eWaste
There are places everywhere that will take your used electronic devices and dismantle them for spare parts to make new devices. Some electronics are made with 100% recyclable materials because the components you find in one can be used in others. Precious metals like gold and silver can be recycled and the rest of the unit will get disposed of properly.
Organize an eWaste drive
Now that you are familiar with eWaste and how it is dangerous to our environment, you can go out and organize an eWaste drive where people bring in their old electronics for recycling. You can ask colleagues, your child’s school, or people in your community to donate any old devices they are no longer using anymore and then bring them to a recycling center nearby. You can also sell the items to a company like Gizmogo and donate the money to a charity of your choosing. There are countless ways to educate and organize in your area to make an impact and there are many people with these old devices cluttering their cupboards who will be happy to get rid of them responsibly.
Our dependency on electronic devices is only going to grow moving forward and our desire to get the latest and greatest in technology while the old unit is perfectly good is contributing to a larger problem of eWaste. When these devices are not recycled properly, then they end up poisoning our landfills and eventually making their way to groundwater in local areas around the landfills. This affects the people who live there, the wildlife and the freshwater supply. When you want to get rid of an electronic device, use one of these 5 methods to dispose of it and help find a solution to the growing eWaste problem.
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