From Gadgets to Green: How to Responsibly Recycle Your Old Electronics

We all own phones and other electronics, and these need to be disposed of and replaced at least every few years. If you’re thinking of sending your gadgets to the landfill, you should consider recycling or repurposing them instead. This way, you’ll help with environmental protection and can save money on the purchase of new devices. Let’s look at how you can responsibly recycle your old electronics.

Understanding Electronic Waste

Any electronic device that needs to be discarded is classified as electronic waste. This could be household or industrial equipment. The issue with e-waste is that it contains hazardous substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium, all of which can pose significant threats to the environment and humans. Because of these risks, it is important to dispose of electronic waste carefully. Even better, you should consider recycling the equipment.

The Role of ITAD Companies

IT asset disposition (ITAD) companies are meant to help with the safe recycling or disposal of e-waste. One key reason for the use of an ITAD company is that it ensures the security of your company’s data by eliminating any residual sensitive data from your assets. This can also be an extremely important issue for companies that are entrusted with sensitive customer or employee information. Failing to securely complete data destruction can lead to expensive lawsuits.

An ITAD company will try to recover some value instead of just throwing everything away. When you send the device to the company, it will assess the gadget to determine its functional and cosmetic condition. It can then be used to make refurbished phones or refurbished IT equipment.

Importance of Data Destruction

Data destruction is extremely important when recycling electronics. It helps to protect your intellectual property so that you maintain an edge in your industry. You will also avoid legal issues related to the protection of customer or employee data. It is worth noting that most customers will abandon your company permanently if it becomes clear that you leaked their data. To ensure that your data is completely inaccessible, the ITAD company will thoroughly overwrite any existing storage arrays.

Refurbished IT Equipment: A Second Life

You don’t always have to throw away your old electronics. With an ITAD company, these devices can be turned into refurbished IT equipment. This is a good way to minimize e-waste and extend the life of your electronics. Keep in mind that refurbished phones or devices aren’t the same as used ones. They must be tested and certified to make sure they work just as well as new ones. You can save significant amounts of money with refurbished devices.

Responsible Recycling Practices

There are several options you can use to recycle old electronics. You can send them to local recycling centres, manufacturer take-back programs, and e-waste collection events. When choosing a recycling service, you should pay attention to the certifications and transparency of their processes. Companies accredited by organizations like the EPA or the National Waste and Recycling Association have to meet specific quality standards. That means they’re doing their work properly.

Steps to Prepare Your Electronics for Recycling

Ready to send your electronics for recycling? Then you can follow these steps to prepare the devices: 

• Start by signing out of every account on the phone or electrical device
• Back up any important information on the device- With an iPhone, you’ll simply need to enable the iCloud feature and upload all the phone data into the cloud. If you own an Android, you should back up the data through Google Sync.
• Perform a factory reset and encrypt your data
• Remove your battery and accessories, after which you can clean the device for safe disposal

Eco-Friendly Disposal Options

One thing you need to note is that electronics are made using many valuable minerals and resources. By recycling your devices, you’ll be able to repurpose these minerals and play a part in protecting the environment. Recycling e-waste also prevents soil, water, and air pollution.

With more than $1.5 billion in electronic sales every year, it is clear that e-waste will become a major issue over the following years. It is also worth noting that the devices become obsolete at a high rate, which means they have to either be repurposed or thrown into landfills. Choosing the latter option can fill up the dumpsites quite fast, leading to health risks for plant and animal life.

Old phones don’t necessarily need to be refurbished to meet modern-day needs. They can be repurposed to suit different needs. For example, you can use the Unified Remote app to turn the device into a wireless trackpad, or even use the phone as a universal remote for your smart devices. 

Also read: 5 Eco-Friendly Smartphones To Help The Environment and Reduce E-Waste

Are you worried about the ever-increasing amount of e-waste? You can help improve the situation by recycling or repurposing your gadgets. Simply backup your data, encrypt the device, factory reset it, and send it to a recycling company. You can also use creative methods to repurpose the device so that you hold on to it for longer.

Article contributed by Milica Vojnic of Wisetek. Wisetek is a global provider of data centre services, electronic recycling services, data erasure services, IT asset disposal services and data sanitization solutions.

Also read:Exploring the Future of E-waste & Electronics Recycling