eWaste Crisis

I’ve been accumulating electronics from various sources in the hopes that I could fix them and put them to good use, or get rid of them. People have upgraded their computer and want to get rid of their old one so I’ll take it and “cannibalize” it (as one friend put it). The problem that eventually arises is this: What do I do with all the electronics that I don’t need. Some of it I can put on eBay and someone who buys used electronics to refurbish and resell will buy it off me, which is great! But what about the harddrive that is beyond fried, the cdrom drive that won’t even power up, and now the tv that doesn’t even give a picture and is sitting in the back of my CRV?

The temptation is to just toss said electronic item in the dumpster and never worry about it again. Or put one piece of the electronics into my trashcan each week, and eventually I will be rid of it all. But then, when the tv you are trying to dispose of is a large screen that weighs a ton and doesn’t quite fit in the trashcan, what then?

Some people just leave it on the side of the road with a sign that says “FREE!” and hope that someone will come and take it. I’m not going to do that. First of all, I don’t like the way that looks. Second, the tv doesn’t work! I’m basically leaving the job of disposing the tv to someone else, and that someone is more likely to contribute to the eWaste Crisis that our society is facing.

What is the eWaste Crisis? Read about it! In three years, they predict that the rate of disposed electronics will increase 650%, which will have a huge impact on the environment. So, I did some digging to find out what I should do about my electronics so that I’m not contributing to the eWaste Crisis. And I found out something very cool for Fayetteville residents.

I stumbled across this site (earth911.org) as I was Googling around for answers. You can input your zip code and it will give you the recycling centers in your area. Look for one that takes electronics. I input my zip code for Fayetteville and it gave me the website for the Washington County Office of Environmental Affairs & Recycling (www.co.washington.ar.us/EnvironmentalAffairs). And I was pleased to see on their website that they are offering FREE Electronics Recycling [link expired] during the month of January 2008!

So, I’m going to hold on to the electronics that I need to get rid of for a few more weeks. Then I can do my part to responsibly dispose of my stash of electronics.