Tips for Office Equipment Recycling

Today, thanks to technological advancement, all of us have at least one electronic device. With the development of smartphones, we have one with us at all times. In addition to phones, most people own personal computers, laptops, tablets, and other similar equipment. Furthermore, when we add businesses and companies to the mix, you can imagine the amount of electronic equipment they own. They are good while they last and while you need them, but what afterward? With time they wore down and are no longer useful and are practically rendered to waste. 

When this happens, you need to be careful. Electronic waste isn’t the same as the regular one, and it needs to be handled carefully. Most people do not understand this and do not act accordingly. Companies such as allgreenrecycling.com can’t stress enough how important it is to operate office equipment recycling the right way. Only in the United States, there were 44.7 million tons of electronic waste. This is an incredibly high number. But, we also have a number that sits low – the number of tons disposed of properly. Only 20% of the entire 2016 e-waste went to the right hands and was handled as it should be. This is a scary number that needs to be much closer to the whole of the waste created. 

The reason is relatively simple – e-waste can be toxic at times, and people are not aware of this. Lead, mercury, or cadmium are regular substances in some of the electronic devices available on the market. These substances shouldn’t be handled without proper care for the well being of all of us. Luckily, there are safe ways that you can dispose of any waste, and e-waste is no different. But, if you do not know how to do it, we would like to share a bit of our wisdom with you with the following tips for office equipment recycling, So, be sure to follow these instructions once your equipment is out of date need of disposal. 

Bring It to the Recycler

Recycling companies, non-profit organizations, and communities are more common than you believe. All of them can help you dispose of your electronic waste, with some even doing it for free. There’s money to be earned in properly recycling things, so there are individuals and organizations that would even come to your address to help you with waste if you have enough quantity. They are easy to find; you only need one quick Google search. All you need to do is to find the ones operating in your area. 

It would be best if you also had in mind that this is a matter that most states and cities take seriously. This is why many of them organize events that revolve around proper e-waste management. In some areas, there are days dedicated to this cause, and it is when you can also have your waste taken care of by professionals. If you take a look at TIA E-cycling Central, you can find a map that would show you all the events across all the states that have them with dates and time dedicated to recycling. But, if you want to do it yourself, there are lessons to be learned at various websites devoted to this cause. Just be sure that you fully understand everything before doing it yourself. 

Donate It

Donation is a perfect solution in case your device is still functional. Even if it is not, some organizations would gladly take it off your hands to repair it or recycle it if the repair does not succeed. This option would require more of your tome, as you’ll need to check out all the organizations and communities in the vicinity that are happy to accept your donation. 

This is a fantastic thing to do, both for you and the organization that receives the goods. It is a donation that they know what to do with, but for you, it can be a tax deduction, which is terrific for your business. There are many options available for you, with some of them being rather state-wise than local. We are talking about Dell Reconnect, AmericanCellPhoneDrive.org, or eBay for Charity. All of them can handle your e-waste the right way if you don’t know what to do locally, or at all. 

Let the Tech Companies Recycle It

This one is an easy option that you’ll find it hard to believe that you haven’t thought of it. Some companies that sell or re-sell electronic equipment are willing to take it from your hands once their time is up. So, you can give the used and expired equipment back to the seller. Companies large enough often have recycling programs of their own, which are dedicated to handling their equipment. This option makes everything easier for the consumer. The best part is yet to come – many green-oriented companies are willing to give their customers incentives to recycle products. Apple is one company that excels in this field as they offer a discount on future developments if you recycle old ones with them. Companies that do this are quite long, but we’ll give you a couple of names to know. If you have products by either Sony, TCL, Samsung, and Xerox, know that you can recycle your old devices. 

What to Do Before Recycling Electronics

Recycling electronic waste is all good and well, but there are a couple of things you need to do beforehand. The first thing to be taken care of should be the data backup. You can’t know where parts of your former device are going to end up, so be sure to take everything of them once they’re for disposal. Furthermore, to ensure no sensitive data is leaked, you should free them of any information. If parts of the storage are physically tied top the equipment, be sure to wipe them clean before getting rid of them.