How to Sell or Recycle Old Electronics
PEOPLE
give all sorts of electronics as gifts around the holidays: phone
chargers, e-book readers, video games, drones and more. But what should
we do with the devices they are replacing?
Most
of our gadgets end up in landfills, others stuffed away in a closet,
never to be played with again. In the tech industry, hoarding or
disposing of used electronics this way is known as e-waste, and can
leave toxic materials and pollutants in
the environment. The amount of e-waste is growing every year — by some
estimates, consumers threw away 92 billion pounds of used electronics
last year, up from 87.7 billion pounds the previous year, according to a
report by the United Nations University, the academic and research arm of the United Nations.
Efforts
are underway to dispose of electronics more responsibly. Electronics
resellers, for one, have existed for years and purchase old tech
products. More recently, large tech companies including Apple and phone
carriers like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and AT&T have begun
trade-in programs for cellphones , offering consumers credit toward buying new phones. The companies then often resell the old cellphones internationally.
Yet
the e-waste issue persists. Many people shove their old computers and
tablets into junk drawers or closets, said Chris Sullivan, the chief
executive of Gazelle ,
a company that buys and sells used electronics. “They’re unaware of the
options,” he said, on how to responsibly dispose of many electronics.
“I think people aren’t necessarily inherently lazy.”
To
make way for tech presents this holiday season, I recently tried out
three programs for getting rid of used electronics. The programs, Amazon , Gazelle and Best Buy ,
are available nationwide. Each one was simple to use and headache-free,
and I even managed to get a decent amount of money for my old
electronics, like my outdated video game controller and a used
smartphone, to spend on holiday gifts.
Amazon’s trade-in program was my favorite of the three because it accepts such a wide variety of products, from old DVDs to Wi-Fi routers, in exchange for Amazon gift cards. The process starts on the program’s website, amazon.com/trade-in ,
where you can find out which items the retailer will buy. The process
took me a while, but I eventually learned that the company would buy a
good amount of junk in my drawer: a PlayStation 3 controller, three used
video games and two cable modems from past living situations. (Nontech
items can be sold, too. I even managed to get rid of a gluten-free
cookbook I bought two years ago when my girlfriend was hooked on that
trendy diet.)
Once
I knew which items Amazon would take, the company supplied me with a
free shipping label. All I had to do was pack everything up and drop the
packages off at a U.P.S. mailbox. About two weeks later, after Amazon
inspected each item, I received about $60 worth of Amazon store credit.
Not shabby at all.
Stacey
Keller, an Amazon spokeswoman, said the company’s trade-in program
allowed people to declutter by selling an array of eligible items “and
in return, receive an Amazon gift card which can be spent on millions of
items that they actually want.”
I
also used Gazelle, which buys and sells used electronics, to sell a
used iPhone. The company gave me a quote of $70 based on the “good”
condition and age of the phone. Then it gave me the option to receive a
free box with packing materials for the phone or to print out a free
shipping label so I could pack and ship the phone myself. I chose the
second option, erased the contents of the phone, removed the SIM card
and shipped the phone in a used Amazon box. Two weeks later, after
Gazelle inspected the phone, I got my $70 via PayPal, the popular
payment service.
Gazelle
sells other types of products, too. In years past, I have sold used
Apple laptops and an iPad to the service and got a reasonable amount of
money in return.
“We
purchase a lot more than just phones, and we get that message out as
best we can,” said Mr. Sullivan of Gazelle. “We’ll take those devices.”
In the event that a product is unusable and Gazelle declines the
purchase, the company offers to recycle it responsibly free through its partner CloudBlue , he added.
After selling items to both Amazon and Gazelle, I was still left with plenty of e-junk. I turned to Best Buy , which has a nationwide recycling program that
it started about six years ago. The stores invite shoppers to drop off
electronics, including televisions, batteries, ink cartridges and power
cables, at kiosks or the customer service desk. Best Buy says it teams
up with responsible recycling companies like Electronics Recyclers International and Regency Technologies . Most gadgets can be dropped off for recycling free at Best Buy, though some states require consumers to pay a small fee to recycle certain items, like old TVs.
I
decided to put the Best Buy program to the test by gathering the least
desirable electronics in my home, along with some unsolicited items that
have been mailed to the New York Times office in San Francisco over the
last three years.
I
packed up a DVD collection of all five “Home Alone” movies (who even
knew there were five?), two Motorola phone cases, two styluses and a cup
holder that attaches to laptops. At a Best Buy store, I laid the items
on the customer service desk and described them one by one: “Here’s a
collection of ‘Home Alone’ DVDs that nobody will ever want, a useless
cup holder, some lame styluses and some Motorola cases,” I said.
The
Best Buy employee laughed and thanked me before placing the items in a
pile. I was surprised she didn’t ask me to pay the store to take the
junk away from me. Now I’m e-waste-free and ready for some new gear.
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Librarian
Khaitan & Co
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