If you’re like me, you’re probably very much into tech. After all, you’re reading this blog from a link on one of two social media platforms where most of what I talk about is tech. It’s a fair assumption, wouldn’t you say? I’ve been into it as far back as I can remember. I grew up with video game consoles and a computer that was given to me that I couldn’t figure out how to use because no one around me knew how to use it. I guess I was just supposed to learn through osmosis? I couldn’t tell you to this day why it was given to me.
But it wasn’t until recent years where I began to think about what happened to all of it. Obviously I didn’t keep everything, and I know some of it was probably sold or given away. But just for me alone, I had an enormous amount all added together of tech that ultimately became obsolete and I didn’t want to use it as a result. Old desktop PCs to laptops (so many laptops) all became junk, and what do we do with junk? (Or at least me, in these cases.) I tossed it out to make room for the new toys and devices I wanted. I’m obviously just one person, but when I think about all that e-waste I alone cast away and add to it the whole country past and present who all do the same thing, it becomes a staggering amount of junk that is all discarded in various places around the globe.
It’s been coined as e-waste, and it’s become one of the fastest growing solid waste streams in the entire world. That’s per the WHO, who estimated that 62 million tons of it were produced in 2022 alone. Much of this junk releases a lot of toxic substances into the environment that affect us all, primarily children and pregnant women. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to turn into a lecture at all. Because it wasn’t until recent years that this kind of thing ever crossed my mind. It’s a huge issue, to say the least, that people like you and I can help alleviate. It’s one of the top issues that Steve and the fantastic crew at Gamers Nexus (a terrific YouTube channel) devote time and energy to wanting to help.
The reason this came to mind especially now is because it’s the holidays, and I’m sure some of you reading this got some new tech this year as a gift from someone or just to yourself. I know I did, and then I remember my closet of old laptops. Since switching to Mac some time back, I have amassed a museum of old Windows laptops I will never use again. I never could bring myself to just throw them away like they were an empty milk carton. I think it’s because I paid a lot more for them than I did a carton of milk.
I’m glad I didn’t, because then I began looking into ways to do something with those old devices. I read about e-waste, and I started looking into solutions to help with the issue. Obviously I alone am not going to make a dent in the world’s overwhelming supply of junk, but at least I can say I did something. I started researching the many solutions for it that were the most cost effective.
A lot of tech retailers have these programs, such as Best Buy. You can take it into the store yourself. Or if you’re like me and would rather avoid lines and such, you can buy boxes to pack it all up and send it to them for a fee. The option I found that worked best for me was through Apple. They’ll take your devices, whether they made it or not. Obviously for a lot of their newer tech, you get credit for it. (I’ve certainly made use of it in that way.) But they’ll also take the rest, and they’ll do it for free. You just fill in the form, they email you a prepaid UPS label and you box it up and send it off without paying a dime.
No program is perfect, and I know there is no shortage of tech recycling programs out there. I’m just sharing with you the ones that work the best in my experience. I don’t know what you do with your old gear that you don’t use now, but I’d much rather recycle it than have it either a) take up space in my house that I could use for anything else or b) toss it into a city landfill. If you’re already on top of this situation in your life, I applaud you. If this is the first time it’s ever crossed your mind, hopefully I’ve given you some ideas on how to improve your situation. After all, I’m a strong believer in leaving things better than how you found them. This is an excellent place to start.
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