In honor of Earth Week, here are some FREE resources with information on recycling, reselling and donating your old electronics!
EcoSquid
EcoSquid is a web site that helps you find the best options to resell, recycle, or donate new and used electronics. If your electronics still have value you can earn a few bucks. You’ll also find recycling or donation options for those that do not.
Earth 911
Great resource for all your Electronics recycling needs. Once you contact the Earth 911 network, you will find community-specific information on eCycling and much more.
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC)
RBRC will help you recycle portable rechargeable batteries commonly found in cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys. You can enter your zip code to find collection sites near you.
Best Buy
Best Buy will accept most electronics, including TVs, DVD players, computer monitors, cell phones and more. Consumers can bring in up to (3) items a day per household.
They also claim, if they don’t accept it they’ll help you find a place that does!
AT&T Reuse and Recycle
You can bring unwanted cell phones, Personal Data Assistants (PDAs) and other accessories (regardless of the manufacturer or carrier) to an AT&T store or participating authorized dealer store near you.
Also for information on holding a cell phone recycling collection or the Cell Phones for Soldiers program at your business or in your community, please visit AT&T’s online starter kit for donations
10 Tips for for Donating a Computer:
Tech soup has a great checklist you can follow if you are thinking about donating your computer! Most are common sense but there are a couple I bet you’d not thought of!
Office Depot
Stop by a participating location and pick up a Tech Recycling Box. Fill the box with as many used consumer electronics (cell phones/PDAs, computers, televisions, etc) as will fit and drop the unsealed boxes off at any Office Depot store to be recycled.
Three sizes are available Small ($5), Medium ($10), Large ($15).
Dell & Goodwill/RECONNECT
Goodwill Industries and Dell have partnered to offer you an opportunity to help your community by donating your used computer or equipment! Someone will get use out of it rather then having it end up in a landfill!
Hewlitt Packard
Lot’s of drop off points for ink cartridges, rechargeable batteries and more
LG Electronics
LG offers a free mail-in recycling program for old cell phones and their accessories (any make or model). Simply box up your old phone and accessories, print off the pre-paid mailing label from their website and mail in the phone for recycling.
They’ve also partnered with Waste Management Inc. to provide drop off points for unused electronics. Head here and enter your zip code to find a drop-off point near you –>
Nokia
They offer a free mail-in recycling program for old cell phones. Just print off a pre-paid shipping label and mail it in. Those in New York & Chicago can also drop by any Nokia store to pick up a shipping label!
T-Mobile
They offer both mail-in and drop off options for their handsets. Print a mailing label here —> or simply drop off to one of their stores!
Verizon Wireless Hope Line Program:
Verizon collects no-longer-used wireless phones and equipment in any condition from any service provider. The used phones are either refurbished for reuse or recycled.
Refurbished phones, complete with 3,000 minutes of wireless service, are provided to local domestic violence organizations or local government and law enforcement agencies for use with their domestic violence clients.
Wireless phones and equipment donations can also be sent to:
Verizon Wireless HopeLine
c/o CMB Wireless Group
630 Broadway Avenue
Holbrook, NY 11741
Techsoup
They’ve compiled a great list of information to promote computer recycling and reuse. This site provides resources for those who would like to donate hardware and those who would like to acquire recycled hardware, and refurbished.
Close the Gap
Close the Gap helps make reused and refurbished computers available to underprivileged individuals in Africa and other developing countries.
(thanks Chi-TownCheapskate!)
Hey Katarina,
thanks much for the info. Do you know centres which do recycling of milk cans..and give us a few cents for it jus as they do it for carbonated drink bottles?
Have a good day
Thanks,
Vas