Easy Ways to Recycle Old PCs and Cell Phones--Really!

Easy Ways to Recycle Old PCs and Cell Phones--Really!
Safely getting rid of all your dead or outdated technology: We show
you how simple it can be.

Michael S. Lasky, special to PC World
Friday, April 22, 2005

Every Monday when the household recycling truck comes, it's little
bother for me to haul out my blue bin, where throughout the week I
pitch unwanted paper, plastic, and glass. So why, then, is it so
difficult for me to get rid of my old PC, my crappy three-year-old
cell phone, and that Methuselah of a TV that I banished to the garage
ten years ago?

Recycling aged electronics always feels like a chore, especially when
you're trying to do it with little or no expense of time and money.
Now, EBay, the nation's leading forum for selling used goods, is
working to ease your pain, through its Rethink Initiative.

EBay Becomes ReBay

The online auction giant spearheaded Rethink earlier this year to
confront the growing problem of "e-waste." For instance, an amazing
133,000 PCs are junked every day, according to industry analyst
Gartner. Add to that the thousands of cell phones, printers, monitors,
and other electronics, and you can see how the junk pile could
overwhelm landfills.

While the sheer bulk of e-waste is an ecological nightmare alone, it's
the hazardous materials they contain that cause the most alarm:
Plastics, lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury are among the poisons
that leech into the soil and eventually contaminate our water.

Backed by Intel, Rethink coordinates the recycling programs of more
than two dozen major computer manufacturers, retailers, and cell phone
companies--as well as government agencies, environmental groups, and
charities--and conveniently links to all of them on one site.
Previously you had to dig deep on each company or organization's Web
site just to find its recycling program--if there was one.

Now the home page of the Rethink Initiative provides easy access to
the wide array of responsible ways to dump your unwanted equipment. Of
course, EBay would love for you to sell your unwanted stuff on its
site, but the Rethink location also tells you about convenient local
drop-off options, trade-in programs, and ways to donate to local
charities.

The true gold at the end of this recycling rainbow is a list of links
to technology companies' own recycling program pages, and referrals to
local programs in your area where you can either drop off your
equipment or arrange to have it picked up for free or for a small
charge.

It took only a few weeks for Rethink to generate public response, EBay
says. According to Stephani Regalia, senior manager of EBay Computers,
"We've noticed a tremendous surge in visits to the site, particularly
with the use of our online tools, such as our calculators that help
determine the value of a desktop or notebook PC and the PC Selling
Zone resell helper. Our partner, Earth911, had to install a larger
server to handle the page requests that Rethink has generated."

Prepare Old Gear for Its Next Life

Working PCs can be sold or donated via the Rethink Initiative site.
EBay even provides the instructions needed to safely delete all data
on your PC's hard drive or from your cell phone so the next user can't
discover your personal information. Also handy are lists of
third-party sellers and of nonprofits that will take PCs and
peripherals off your hands and refurbish them. For obsolete and
outdated PCs, you can go to a list of responsible recyclers.

And, realizing that most cellular phones are replaced every 18 months
to two years, phone carriers now offer cash or service credits to
customers who recycle their old phone instead of literally throwing it
in the trash.

I found the Rethink FAQs the most orderly way to find much of the
information. It explains what e-waste is and then gives you
follow-the-yellow-brick-road links to finding a recycler, drop-off
centers, and so on.

One of the easiest ways to solve the problem is to find someone else
who wants your item. From Rethink discussion groups, I discovered a
nifty site called FreeBee, where at no charge you can list an item you
want to give away as long as the recipient picks it up. Another
grassroots site set up to facilitate reuse and recycling of products
is FreeCycle, where it's easy to list anything you want to get rid
of--PC, barstool--and a recipient can arrange to come get it. The same
goes for Craigslist, which, in addition to its popular job, apartment,
and used-car listings, also accepts free postings for anything you
want to be rid of.

Recycling Is Closer Than You Think

I also discovered that the people who pick up my newspapers and
bottles every week will also pick up unwanted appliances--large and
small--twice a year. All I have to do is call to arrange the pick-up.
Most metropolitan areas with recycling programs offer a variation of
this as well. Just ask.

And typing "computer recycling centers" in any search engine will
yield pages of national and local companies and organizations willing
to take what might be otherwise headed to the garbage dump. So on this
35th anniversary of Earth Day, there are no excuses. Recycle away!

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...042205X,00.asp


===
"Until last October, Christ had a very limited involvement in my life. I believed in God; I just never had to prove I believed. Belief is an absence of proof."
-- Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling

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› See More: Easy Ways to Recycle Old PCs and Cell Phones--Really!

And here is a place offering a certificate if you recycle your cell
phone:

http://www.cell-phone-accessories.co...e-recycle.html

jamison wrote:
>
> And here is a place offering a certificate if you recycle your cell
> phone:
>
> http://www.cell-phone-accessories.co...e-recycle.html

I wonder if they'll frame it, for an additional fee, of course! <g>

Notan

>> And here is a place offering a certificate if you recycle your cell
>> phone:
>>
>> http://www.cell-phone-accessories.co...e-recycle.html
>
>I wonder if they'll frame it, for an additional fee, of course! <g>

There is a good article about recycling at:
http://www.ringtones-central.com/rec...cellphones.htm

Best
George