Did you know that 2% of all trash in American landfills comes from e-waste? Unfortunately, about 70% of all toxic waste in America’s landfills comes from e-waste. Our devices contain all kinds of unusual chemicals that can negatively affect the environment.
Of course, there are all kinds of other reasons to manage e-waste. You can get more out of your devices than many people do. On top of that, you can reduce your consumption.
So what exactly should you be doing to help lower how much e-waste you produce? Read on to learn all about the most important things to keep in mind when you want to manage your e-waste!
Trade In Your Old Laptops and Other Devices
Maybe you don’t know what to do with your electronic waste. However, many companies do. That is the reason that they provide you with the option to trade in your old devices for credit.
Many of the largest companies, like Apple and Amazon, will sometimes offer the opportunity to get company credit in exchange for your old devices. You can then spend that credit on all kinds of other things.
On top of that, these companies will employ the latest technological advancements to make the most of your old devices. That means that your devices will not go to waste. And you’ll get credit on top of that!
Repair Your Devices
Many types of e-waste can be reduced by simply repairing devices. You may not know how to repair devices, but you can easily find quality companies that can. In fact, in many cases, a great company can restore your device to a condition better than it was right before it broke.
Alternatively, you can learn how to repair your devices yourself.
Donate Devices to Charity
Maybe you don’t see anything that you can do with your devices. But that does not mean that other people will not see things that they can do with them.
Donating devices to charity is a great way to help people who do not have the same privileges that you do. In fact, it might amaze you just how much value people can get out of devices that have lost many of their functions. Sometimes, something as simple as a device for word processing can change someone’s life.
A broken smartphone that does nothing but act as a phone or communication device can also make a huge difference for some people.
Even if your device is completely broken, do not give up hope. You may not know where to find quality companies to repair your devices, but the charities that you can donate your devices to may be able to work with quality repair companies.
In fact, since they can receive many old devices, they may be able to work out deals to get their devices repaired in bulk.
The long and short of it is that just because you do not see any use for something, that does not mean that somebody else cannot find ways to make use of it. If you are not going to keep it yourself, you might as well give them the chance to use it in some useful way.
Recycle Computers and Other Devices
If nothing else, you can always simply recycle your devices. There are a couple of different ways you can recycle devices. One is in the classic sense of the word, where you send devices away to a facility that will break the devices down and reuse their component pieces.
That all by itself is another great way to avoid contributing to the presence of toxic waste in landfills. It is also another way to make sure that the limited resources of the earth end up in hands where they can be put to use again.
Alternatively, you can recycle devices by using them in new ways.
For example, if your broken phone only performs a few functions, then you can simply use it for those few functions.
Even if your device is nothing but a calculator, there is still a lot of use in that. There is a reason that people make and sell and buy calculators.
Sell Your Devices
Many people are not interested in anything that is too costly or difficult. If it is not obvious how to recycle something, they might prefer to just throw it away. But they might not feel that way if they realize that they had the opportunity to make some money off of their electronics.
If nothing else, you can sell your own devices online. Of course, you will only get really good money for devices that still function in at least some significant way.
However, if the only reason you’re getting rid of a device is that you have a new one, you might as well see if anybody out there is willing to pay for your old one.
If you have never done this before, do not underestimate your chances of success. There is a perfectly reasonable chance that somebody will value whatever functions your devices are still capable of performing. If you haven’t checked for demand before, don’t just tell yourself that nobody would want it because it is too old or has lost some of its functions.
Understand How to Reduce Your E-waste
We hope that some of the ideas in this brief article about how to reduce your e-waste have been helpful for you. Many people are becoming increasingly conscious of the ways that they consume the resources of our planet. These resources are limited, so it makes sense to make the most of them.
The more you understand about how to reduce your e-waste, the more you can reduce your carbon footprint and overall consumption. That is an investment in the health of our planet and the future. To learn more about how to manage your old devices and where you can find experts to help you repair them, feel free to reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!
