apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, that's awesome. You can request envelopes from HP to mail them used ink cartridges, and Apple takes back old iPods (and gives you 10% off a new one), but it would be nice to just get rid of everything in one place.

That is a very useful program. I think there is also a program for used/old cell phones where they are donated to women in need- for emergency use.

It seems like a great one-stop recycling program for those who can't recycle at work or give older electronics to younger friends/relatives. I'll probably send them my old PDAs.

Personally, I end up recycling old cell phones, batteries (it's fantastic that they do this), & ink cartridges at work since we have bins for those items at every admin desk.

I hope they expand this program to the rest of the US. When I took my old cell phone back to the store for recycling, the staff all looked at me as if I was crazy even though I told them that the company's Web site said I could give them my old phone for them to send it off for recycling. They eventually took my phone but given their blank stares during my visit, I wonder if they really recycled my phone or just threw it in the trash. http://condo-blues.blogspot.com

When I bought my last new phone from Sprint, they handed me a whole pile of postage paid envelopes to mail my old phones/chargers, etc. for recycling.

Best Buy and Staples also take phones, etc for recycling, if I recall correctly...

A lot of various places take your electronics. But that's just it. Before the American public recycles, it needs to be simple. One stop. And it has to be fast. Now that I think about it, it was only a matter of time before the post office got involved, due to their size, proximety and ability to ship quickly. I say Bravo! Let's hope they have the envelopes in stock.

And thank you you AT for referring to my post!

John

I could use this in NY!

You can also donate used cell phones to help victims of domestic violence.

"The CALL TO PROTECT campaign collects wireless phones to benefit survivors of domestic violence. Proceeds from the sale of phones help fund agencies that fight domestic violence and are also used to support the educational efforts of the Wireless Foundation. Other phones are refurbished and become lifelines for domestic violence survivors when faced with an emergency situation."

More info here: http://cellphones.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=cellphones&cdn=gadgets&tm=371&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.donateaphone.com/

We need this in SF!

great resource. will check it out!

Yes, they need to expand this program. Here in SF I just found out that Cole Hardware now accepts cell phones for recycling.

What's wrong with selling electronic devices on eBay? As for recycling, where I live you can bring back old electronic stuff to shops and they are obligated to take it. Or you can bring it to trash collection places. Also, the HP ink cartridges I buy have an envelope to send the old ones back.

there is also a program called cell phones for soldiers, which takes in old cell phones and recycles them towards calling cards for soldiers to call home:

http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/

There's a great company called Second Rotation if you'd like to make some cash off of your old electronics without the hassle of ebay. I sent in 2 old cell phones - and made $47 bucks! One of the phones was really old and not worth any money - so they recycled it.

http://www.secondrotation.com/

Clap, you are right. i've been taking advantage of that for years. i did try recently to go to walgreens and try the program they have for refilling cartridges, to be more enviro friendly, but the quality of the ink was so poor, it wasn't worth it, so i went back to buying new cartridges, and mailing in the old.

anyone who has been a verizon customer should know, that they have had a program in place to make use of your old phones. you drop them off at a store, and there are envelopes there. you place in your old cell, and if you have all the booklets, and anything else like the charger, and place it in. the phones are used for battered women. i think it's an excellent program, and have turned in all my old phones to them. they even take phones from other service providers too.

hr34 you are absolutely right as well. the envelopes came to me for this cause, inside some packages that i received from online orders i placed. unfortunately for the life of me, i can't remember which vendor i ordered from. maybe victoria's secret, or zappos or something. they put the pre-paid envelopes inside, so i guess they support the cause and try to encourage people to do this. i think it's great!

blkbrrry- that was probably amazon. They just sent me a couple of envelopes in my package this week. Cellphones for soldiers (I'm holding onto 'em).

Check in your local area to see if any of the charities in your own back yard have a cell phone recycling program. In my town, the local service provider for people with disabilities has one. Give them your old phone and they get $10. It's a simple enough way to support a local organization that provides services to my neighbors.

I found this site extremely helpful to find local facilities for all sorts of e-cycling. Worth bookmarking!: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Electronics/Collection/RecyclerSearch.aspx