End-Of-Life Electronics
These various electronics are at the end of their usefulness and need to be recycled or disposed of safely. These electronics can include cell phones, batteries, computers, machines like ATM machines, televisions and more. Some of these electronics can be recycled or reused to make new products but they cannot simply be put into a landfill. The reasons that they should not go into a landfill is that they could contain contaminants or dangerous metals that can be released if they are crushed like the other garbage in the landfill. This could create environmental hazards.
In addition to being unusable, these electronics may not work any longer or they could be obsolete. Since it is not an option to put them in the landfill many localities have set up special recycling centers, different places where these electronics can be left safely, and recycling programs. In some schools, they have a program that offer the students and school fundraising incentives for the disposals of printer ink cartridges, cell phones, and cell phone batteries. In some cases, you may have to pay a fee to have the electronics disposed of correctly.
When people dispose of their electronics that are at the end of their life, what matters a great deal are environmental concerns and security. Most companies and people store a lot of secure information on their computer like tax information, addresses, and bank account numbers. If you are planning to recycle your computer, you do not want anyone to get this information you need to make sure that the hard drive is destroyed or some method is used to get rid of this information permanently. At many recycling centers that recycle computers for nonprofit organizations or schools have a special method that they can use to make sure that none of the regular data is left on your hard drive. This will help to protect you from identity theft. When you take your computer to be rebuilt or fixed for this purpose ask how they are going to erase all this information from your hard drive permanently. Make sure that it is a legitimate recycling center for computers.
Some electronics have designated recycling centers or disposal methods that are just for that particular type of electronics. If you are not sure you can check online to find the right recycling center in your area. There are online sites where you can send in your small electronics. They may charge you a fee and they may even pay you for sending them the electronic. Check with your local garbage disposal service to see if they have a list of recycling centers. For larger appliances, there may be a fee for the recycling center to take them.