Learn How to Recycle Your Technology
PC Magazine|April 2016

Do your part by donating our old technology or getting rid of it in an environmentally friendly way.

Eric Griffith
Learn How to Recycle Your Technology

We love our computers, smartphones, and gadgets—at least until they stop working. Then these devices and their peripherals, from printers, monitors, and cases to batteries, cables, and accessories, often become digital garbage.

These products aren’t made to last, after all. No computer or phone maker is going to mind if you upgrade every year or two. In fact, they count on it. Consequently, all this junk ends up in the back of your closet or collecting dust in your garage, because you aren’t sure what to do with it.

The best thing to do is donate or recycle it. Contribute your old computers and phones to groups that will fix them, clean them, and put them back into circulation. Even the oldest computer—something you consider the most obsolete of digital dinosaurs—can probably be used by someone.

There are times, though, when a device is too far gone to bring back to life again. Even a charity doesn’t want unusable rubbish. That junk—called e-waste—is potentially dangerous. Electronics are filled with “heavy metals” (read: toxic metals) and carcinogenic chemicals that are fine when you’re using them, but not so much when they’re sitting in a landfill or, worse, when people try to recycle them incorrectly. Thousands of tons of e-waste are shipped overseas yearly to countries like China and India, where they get dumped and maybe burned, a process that puts mercury and lead into the air.

So, here are the places you can take your old or even dead electronics, so they can either end up being used by someone in need or safely recycled.

THE BEST PLACES TO RECYCLE TECH

E-STEWARDS (E-STEWARDS.ORG)

This story is from the April 2016 edition of PC Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2016 edition of PC Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PC MAGAZINEView All
AUDIO
PC Magazine

AUDIO

AUDIO

time-read
1 min  |
December 2022
SMART HOME
PC Magazine

SMART HOME

SMART HOME

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2022
T Mobile
PC Magazine

T Mobile

Mobile

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2022
Apple TV 4K 3rd Generation): Best for the Apple-Centric
PC Magazine

Apple TV 4K 3rd Generation): Best for the Apple-Centric

A powerful, feature-rich media streamer that’s pricier than most

time-read
7 mins  |
December 2022
20 Tips for Leveling Up Your Work-at-Home Game
PC Magazine

20 Tips for Leveling Up Your Work-at-Home Game

Whether you're new to working remotely or just looking fo do if beffer, fhese fips can help you stay productive and maintain balance.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2022
12 Google Calendar Tricks You're Probably Not Using
PC Magazine

12 Google Calendar Tricks You're Probably Not Using

Wondering how to share your Google Calendar? Want to add a new calendar? Here are the tips you need.

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2022
SimpliSafe Home Security System: Affordable Ease of Use
PC Magazine

SimpliSafe Home Security System: Affordable Ease of Use

Affordable security with a focus on flexibility

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2022
Honda Unveils First All-Electric SUV, Built on GM's Battery Platform
PC Magazine

Honda Unveils First All-Electric SUV, Built on GM's Battery Platform

The Honda Prologue battery-electric SUV arrives in 2024 and will use the Ultium battery technology developed by General Motors.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2022
We Must Save Streaming Video Before It’s Too Late
PC Magazine

We Must Save Streaming Video Before It’s Too Late

A generation of art risks extinction if the companies that own streaming services don’t believe their vast libraries are worth preserving. We have to act now to save it.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2022
If You Have a Uterus, Don't Buy an Apple Watch
PC Magazine

If You Have a Uterus, Don't Buy an Apple Watch

New women's health and reproductive features in the Apple Watch 8 and Ultra have the potential to cause harm following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2022