Picture this; you recently got a new phone as a Christmas gift or perhaps bought a new TV during the Black Friday sales. And now you consider the old electronics obsolete. Automatically, the old devices turn into electronic waste —e-waste— and due to the toxic materials, you can’t dump them in the trash can. The life span of electronic devices keeps getting shorter as technology advances. And this means that consumers produce more e-waste. Furthermore, we all have various electronics per household, which requires proper management once they are obsolete. EPA indicates that an average household owns whooping 24 electronic gadgets, which ultimately contributes to 40 million tons of electronic waste yearly. So what do you do with e-waste, and where does it go? Continue reading this Tampa Bay e-waste guide to learn proper e-waste management and disposal.
How do I dispose of Tampa Bay e-waste?
Electronics contain high-toxic materials that pose extensive risks to humans, animals, and the environment.
If you have electronic waste, proper disposal is indispensable.
Luckily, there are various ways to get rid of electronic waste responsibly.
1. Reuse electronics
Often, we think of buying new devices when the current ones get damaged. Yet, a repair can help bring your gadget into good shape.
If there is no way to turn your damaged gadget into its original use, you can repurpose it for other uses.
For instance, you can put your old phones in your car as a GPS device. Turn your obsolete phone into a monitor for home cameras.
Also, you can convert your tablets into photo frames and display your pictures.
You can use the keyboard buttons and make beautiful jewelry or perhaps repurpose the computer monitor to a cat bed.
There are various ways to reuse your electronics, from home banks to keychains, instead of tossing them away.
2. Recycle electronics
Recycling electronic waste is another excellent option for your e-waste. You can collect all the obsolete gadgets and take them to your local e-waste recycler.
Fact-check to ensure that your e-waste recycler has the necessary licenses to recycle electronics.
The benefit of recycling electronics is that they produce valuable metals that manufacture can use for new product manufacturing.
Some of the electronic components that the recycler can retrieve for recycling include plastic, metals, glass, mercury, etc.
You can recycle devices like laptops, tablets, phones, monitors, keyboards, electronic toys, video, audio gadgets, detectors, thermostats, toner/cartridges, circuit boards, hard disks, batteries, and many more.
3. Refurbish and sell electronics as second-hand products
Another excellent option you have when stuck with electronic waste is to sell—if in good condition—-or refurbish and resell.
The electronics that you consider junk are another person’s treasure. You can sell your refurbished tech online and get a little cash.
Sites like e-Bay and Craiglist are great places to look into to find customers for your refurbished devices.
You can also list them up for sale when you host a garage sale.
4. Donate
Did you know that there are communities, schools, and people that could appreciate your old but functioning laptop?
Consider repairing your damaged devices and appliances and donate them to communities.
Where does your Tampa Bay e-waste recycling go?
The first step is to take your Tampa Bay e-waste to the take-back booths for recycling.
Your recycler will haul, shred and sort the junk at the material recovery center.
The material will then undergo an extraction process where different components and materials are carefully recovered from your devices.
Once they recover functional components, your recycler will prepare them for sale.
Ultimately, your recycled material will end up in the manufacturing plant to make new products.
Crucial tips before recycling, donating, or selling your electronics.
Remove the batteries before putting your waste in the recycling bin. Also, ensure to clear your crucial information on the device before recycling, donating, or selling them.
Have questions and want to rent a dumpster to get rid of junk? Let Bin There Dump That Tampa Bay help! Contact us today!