As I mentioned over on Apartment Therapy DC, I have been bitten by a serious spring cleaning bug. There are things that have been in my home for years that I now want to get rid of. I mentioned lamps, bedding and typical household items, but what I didn't mention are the computer accessories that I'm looking to rid myself of as well.
I've gone through every little item in my home, and while I'm usually very good at keeping items until they are virtually falling apart, I've found myself wanting to get rid of every last thing that I don't currently or plan on using.
When sorting through the items in my office, I found that we (my boyfriend & I) have several bags dedicated to cables and power cords. I suppose I always knew they were there, it is my home after all, but I couldn't help but ask myself "why the heck are we saving these?" I don't think we've reached in that bag for something useful for quite some time, but I know how valuable and useful those cords and cables could be to someone.
Obviously we have other items ranging from old keyboards and mice to 2 gig USB drives &mdash but what do we do with it? Obviously I know there are Craigslist and eBay (we use them all the time for big stuff) but what do we do with items that aren't really worth much? If it were a table or lamp, we already know to put it on the curb or drive to Goodwill, but should we do that with tech?
How do you discard your tech?
(Image: Flickr User ultrahi)
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Comments (10)
We aren't allowed to throw them in the trash (or put them on the curb) here; they have to be taken to the Solid Waste Authority to be disposed of safely.
In LA there's a handful of city run hazardous waste disposal sites. We take ours there. Its easy and open on weekends.
if you live in Canada in the Hamilton ont area you can take it to this place "http://www.pothasttechnologies.com/" we bring our stuff to this place they have free pickup available too.
@reflecting
Do you think they would pick up in Aldershot as well or just the Hamilton area?
Yes they pickup in Hamilton and surrounding areas so there should not be a problem in Burlington Aldershot. Just give them a call and make a appointment they will give you the details
Here in Seattle, there are dozens of non-profits that will take your old tech and recycle it properly or find ways to repurpose it for people who can't afford new countries (here and overseas). Look up computer recycling for your area. I'm sure there is someone who would take it.
I run a PC repair business for a little side cash, and just gather everything up and list it on Craigslist for free. The stuff is usually gone within a couple of hours.
What I can't give away, I drop at the computer recycler in the area...
I collect items from friends and coworkers and hold these until I can drop off at recycling collection run by Lower East Side Ecology Center in NYC.
They hold several collection events a year. The last 2 events in April 2010, over 75 tons.
The next event is in July. The organzation has done this for the past several years, check the link below if you live in NYC.
http://www.lesecologycenter.org/
Best Buy - they take computers (sans hard disk), peripherals, and monitors. You get charged for monitors, but you get a gift card for the same amount.
I haven't figured out what I want to do with the hard drives yet.
Freecycle?