CBIA Business Builder – June 2008
Excerpted from original article published in CBIA Business Builder newsletter, June 2008 issue
Recycling, Selling or Donating Your Old Electronics
by Kathy Guyitt, CAPS
2008 CBIA Remodelers Council Chair
More and more consumer electronic products are being sold every year, some of it with relatively short lives. Many folks get new cell phones and MP3 players every few years. And with the transition to digital-only broadcasts in February next year, there will be more and more old analog TVs that will no longer be used. Yes, they can take a converter but what a great excuse for a new TV! We are a disposable society. A huge part of remodeling are new audio-visual, home office and appliance packages – and the old electronics often end up part of basic demo.
You shouldn’t just throw away these products. Besides filling up land fills, many contain toxic materials such as lead, cadmium and beryllium.
OK what do you do?
Sell
Your trash might be someone else’s treasure. eBay can handle old audio, video and computer equipment – someone’s trash is someone else’s treasure. I am really amazed how much some of the stuff can go for – you recycle and earn some cash.
Donate
For computer equipment you might want to check out The Cristina Foundation at http://www.cristina.org/. For over 20 years they have matched companies and individuals that that have unwanted computer products to charities, schools and public agencies that can use them.
Goodwill, The Salvation Army and other local non-profits often welcome donations of electronics products.
If you donate or sell a computer, you should use a ‘disk wiping’ program to totally erase files and programs from the hard disk drive. There are many of these programs available (some are free). Try searching ‘disk wiping’ on Google or download.com
As a Remodeler, I always ask my clients if they want to donate or recycle any goods that they are no longer using. I almost always receive a reply that they hadn’t automatically thought of that.
Recycle
The best source of information that I have found for where to recycle your old electronics is the Environmental Protection Agency. Check out this web-site for the EPA eCycling: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling/donate.htm. You will find an extensive list of links for recycling and donations. It’s pretty amazing information.