How to Recycle and Reuse Electronic Items

Recycle and Reuse Electronic Items

While we all know that paper, plastic and metals can be recycled. We often forget that items like our electronics can be reused or recycled too. Which is especially important when you consider that many of us regularly upgrade items like phones, tablets and laptops every few years. 

So, when you finish using an electronic item, what should you do with it?

What is E-Waste? 

While when we finish with our technology, it’s usually good enough to reuse, when a piece of technology comes to the end of its life, it becomes e-waste. Usually this refers to something that cannot be fixed easily such as a smashed television or technology that is no longer used, like a VCR machine. 

Thankfully, when technology becomes e-waste it is usually 100% recyclable. However, you can’t just stuff it into any recycling bin and hope for the best, these items need to be disposed of correctly to be recycled. 

How Do You Reuse or Recycle Technology?

Do you have an old phone or laptop that you’d like to make sure that is reused or disposed of? Well here’s what you can do it with it: 

1: Reuse 

If your item is still in good working order, then it makes sense that it should be reused by someone else before it gets binned. Even better, you could even make yourself some money back.

That’s because, if your phone, laptop or even something like a TV is working well and isn’t old. You can choose to sell it to someone else. This will help you recuperate some of the costs of your upgraded item as well as making sure that the older piece of technology gets reused rather than dumped. 

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Selling technology is also very easy, as you can use sites like eBay, Gumtree or Facebook marketplace. Just remember to be very honest about any scratches or problems that item might have, otherwise you’ll have an angry buyer on your hands. You can also trade your item into shops like CEX. Here you’ll get less money, but the shop will also test the item first, meaning you won’t need to worry once it’s sold. 

If selling seems too much, or your item is older but still useable, you can think about donating it instead. While not all charities will take technology, you can contact them first to see. Or, you could think of any friends or family who could benefit from it. 

2: Send it Back to the Manufacturer

Most of the big technology brands have their own recycling programs, where they will take back your items and make sure that they are fully recycled. This can be more difficult to do, depending on the brand in question. You’ll just need to look online and see what their policy is and if they have any local pick up points. 

3: Use a Recycling Company 

If sending back to the manufacturer is proving difficult, there’s still hope. That’s because recycling companies – like us here at KwikSweep – will work with to collect and recycle e-waste. Especially when it comes to offices looking to get rid of a large amount of technology items. 

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