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ELECTRONICS RECYCLING - HOW I CLEANED OUT MY GARAGE IN 1 NIGHT

 

 

Time for electronics recycling and disposal of that electrical waste in your garage? Here you'll master the most fundamental points to run with, while rummaging through everything.

Call us today at: (800) 924-0884 to see if you qualify for a free pick-up.

1. What are the benefits of recycling?
2. What electronics can be recycled?
3. Do you have enough to recycle?
4. Is it prepared for recycling?
5. Have you scheduled your pick-up?

But first...

Power outage creates pile of electrical waste!

I believe it was last October, on a dynamic sunny afternoon in Southern California, a transformer on a power poll blew up causing a sequence of mini catastrophes in my my good friend Mike's neighborhood.

The explosion induced a huge power surge throughout the surrounding community, which scorched almost everything plugged into a wall socket.

The power was off for at least a full day.

When it came back on, several of Mike's friendly neighbors exclaimed that most electronics - not plugged into a surge protector were toasted. Shortly thereafter, I received Mike's phone call announcing the dilemma and describing the nuisance.

During the weeks commencing he discovered his computer would no longer fire up, along with several other not so important gadgets.

I sidestepped over an extra pc for him to use

As time rolled by, everything seemed back to normal and was running smoothly. I didn't give it another thought. Except, a full half year later he requested to borrow a replacement computer from me.

Obviously he doesn't always jump online or live on the computer like many people do, being that he didn't mention it for so long. Maybe he couldn't afford a new one, or he knew I had many of them. Who knows.

I dashed over an extra computer for him to use, and in so doing asked what he did with the old one? He replied, "It's stacked in the garage."

After hooking up his new computer, my curiosity lead me to scurry out to his garage to inspect the electronic waste 'stacked' out there. At first I flinched, there on top of an old TV, was a mountain of old electronics.

The 'e waste' was at least six feet high, and five feet wide square, jimmied against the back wall. In the pile of electronic scrap I saw:

• a coffee maker,
• irons,
• a toaster oven,
• two VCR's,
• a stereo system from the 70's,
• the blown out speakers to go with it,
• a small portable radio,
• and just all sorts of used electronics,
• with the infamous toasted computer near the top of the pile.

What are the benefits of recycling?

He obviously knew not to submerge the 'e scrap' into the garbage. Like you, he realized appliance recycling is a must, and some of the benefits of recycling, such as:

• Maintenance of Natural Resources - When we recycle we do not need to deplete our Earth of her natural resources. We can simply reuse the resources we've already gathered and are using in our current goods.
• A Cleaner Environment - Electronic components contain several hazardous chemicals such as Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, Mercury, Bromine, Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). E waste recycling creates heath benefits because these toxic substances will not be leaching into our land, air and water supplies, like they are when buried in a landfill.
• Reuse of Resources - When you consider how many people and how much raw material it took to build your computer from the ground up, it's clear that electronic equipment recycling makes good sense.
• Energy Savings - Consider the resources it takes to mine for new raw materials and refine them. Recycling electronics and ewaste saves not only money, it reduces the pollution caused in mining, refining, and manufacturing of new electronics.

Knowing that technology recycling must be done is important. Determining which pieces to recycle and how to do it, is just as relevant, in order to take the action of getting it done.

What electronics can be recycled?

What can be recycled when it's time to recycle electronics? Anything with an electric cord, or that runs on batteries. The long list below is a work-in-progress, however, should give you a good idea of what to include in your electronic waste recycling.

• Computers - CRT, LCD monitors, mice, keyboards, webcams, flash memory, USB drives, laptops, notebooks, tablets, etc.
• Printers - inkjets, laserjets, dot matrixes, toner cartridges, ink cartridges, etc.
• Copiers - scanners, fax machines, all-in-ones, etc.
• Network Equipment - servers, routers, NIC cards, wireless cards, hubs, switches, UPS/APC power protectors, server racks, etc.
• Electronic Scrap - CPUs, circuit boards, motherboards, hard drives, RAM, video cards, sound cards, power supplies, wires, etc.
• Telephone Equipment - PBX systems and phones, VOIP systems and phones, landline phones, cordless phones, answering machines, cables, headsets, etc.
• Televisions - projection televisions, plasma televisions, LCD televisions, CRT televisions, etc.
• Video Game Equipment - Xboxs, Nintendos, PlayStations, PSPs, controllers, video games, etc.
• Stereo Equipment - receivers, tuners, amplifiers, equalizers, CD players, DVD players, VCRs, Blue Ray players, tape decks, record players, speakers, boom boxes, headphones, CDs, DVDs, cables, headphones, etc.
• Car Stereos - receivers, tuners, amplifiers, equalizers, CD players, cassette players, speakers, cables, etc.
• Musical Instruments - electric guitars, amplifiers, synthesizers, keyboards, drum machines, effects pedals, speakers, cables, headphones, etc.
• Cameras/Optics - digital cameras, SLR cameras, camcorders, video cameras, battery chargers, binoculars, telescopes, etc.
• Handhelds - cell phones, IPODs, MP3 players, docking stations, walkmans, PDAs, game players, battery chargers, headphones, etc.
• Housewares - cooking equipment, coffee makers, cookers/steamers, vacuums, food preparation, toasters, toaster-ovens, griddles, grills, microwave ovens, water filtration, BBQs, home automation, surveillance, lamps/lighting, etc.
• Personal Care - sewing machines, irons, hair dryers, curling irons, small appliances, alarm clocks, etc.
• Miscellaneous - office equipment, calculators, typewriters, point of sale equipment, wiring & cabling, terminals, and so much more. Please let us know anything we forgot in the form to the right.

Here's the equipment recycling list we temporarily cannot ecycle:

• Refrigerators/Freezers
• Stoves/Ovens
• Dishwashers
• Air Conditioners
• Water Heaters
• Furnaces
• Washers/Dryers
• Anything with liquid toxic waste

How much is enough electronic waste for disposal/recycling?

If you're like Mike, with a nice big pile for electronics disposal, have no worries. It's the smaller electrical waste pick-ups that are more concerning.

For instance, when you just want to cell phone recycle. For cell phone disposal, I suggest just mailing it to us at our address below or hang on to it until you have more to dispose of.

Because our primary focus is to improve the environment...

We must consider the carbon footprint we create by sending out our trucks or even smaller vehicles for electronic recycling pick-ups.

Depending on the circumstances we may arrive in small economy vehicles and or Hybrids. This ensures the least amount of CO2 being released to make the drive to and from the pick-up location and our processing facility.

Because of this, we encourage you to have at least 50 pounds of weee scrap for us to remove. Of course that's just a ballpark and isn't set it stone. At a minimum, having us do a TV recycling pick-up is usually fine, as they weigh 50 pounds plus on average.

We do suggest that you grab a neighbor, call your friends, and visit your family members to let them know we're coming out for television recycling or what have you, and gather up as much of their equipment as possible for electronics scrap recycling as well.

Now, that's the way to protect the environment!

How to prepare the hardware for an electronics recycler?

Nothing beats cleaned up, bagged or boxed electronics placed in a safe spot for our drivers to grab and bring back for ewaste recycling.

1. Gather it - As mentioned above, gather as much electronic waste and scrap as possible so as to make our exhaust emissions worth it during our pick-up drive.
2. Wipe it - When we recycle appliances we process them through machines that sort the different components into their raw materials. Dirt and other debris can end up contaminating the commodity materials.
3. Box it - It's much easier and quicker for our drivers to remove your 'e waste' when everything is in a bag or a box. We can even recycle the box!
4. Place it - Don't be too concerned, just put it in a location that is safe, one that youngsters won't climb into.
5. Schedule it - Schedule your electronic waste disposal recycling pick-up today and we'll get the end-of-life electronics, that were in your garage, out of your life!

Schedule your electronics recycling pick-up today!

All Electronics Recycling is currently picking up most everything with an electric cord in your neighborhood (commercial or residential) for reuse or recycling.

So, if you really want to clean out your garage, I suggest filling out the form up on the right or calling us now at (800) 924-0884 to be scheduled in our pick-up routes.

P.S. Also, please ask your friends, family, and colleagues to leave you their 'e waste' so we may pick it all up on the same trip as well. We can always come back next month, although that may increase our carbon footprint, so please act now.

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