New smartphones and gadgets like the iPhone 4 are popping up daily.  Time to recycle cell phones and recycle mobile phones. The digital TV transition caused many new TVs to be sold.  Time to recycle your TV.  Computer are getting faster and cheaper every year. Recycle computer equipment responsibly! Repairing is even greener.

Don’t forget to Secure your iPhone

A recent survey showed only 39% of people recycled their old electronics.  The main reasons not doing so were:

• I didn’t know how
• Didn’t get around to it
• Recycling is not available in my area

We are here to reinforce the importance of recycling and present a wide range of resources.

We suggest people first try to trade in or sell their old electronics.  Getting some money is better than ZERO. If your electronic gadget is broken, try fixing it first.

Not worth anything?  Donate your old Electronics. Be sure to wipe your hard drive with a program like DBAN first.

Digitaltips has a page of organizations that accept donations. EPA has a page about electronics recycling.

Responsibly Recycling Electronics:

Most towns and retailers have e-waste events, most are free, some require fees. It is important to find a responsible recycling, not just any firm. You don’t want your old electronics shipped halfway around the world, ending up polluting some 3rd world country. Electronic products are full of toxics including lead, mercury, and many other heavy metals. Some developing countries extract the precious metals in electronics by burning them, sending toxins like dioxin into the air. Unused with those parts are dumped contaminating the area nearby.

To recycle electronics responsibly, they have to be disassembled and separated into each type of raw material. It is expensive and time-consuming to recycle you waste properly. In some countries, entire communities make their living by scavenging materials from old e-waste. Parts are burned to extract precious metals, creating toxic waste.

60 Minutes has a piece on why responsible electronics recycling is important.

cnet tv has a nice video with tips for recycling electronics.  The big problem area is finding a responsible recycler that will not dump items in 3rd world countries.

Recycle Cell Phones:

Drop off your old cell phone, PDA, cell phone batteries, chargers, or other accessories at one of the retailers or service providers below. Erase your contacts and messages first.

Consider recycling it with a charity like CollectiveGood or recellular.

Recycle Electronics:

Here are some National electronics recycle centers:

Waste management has a take back program for Sony TVs. LG, Zenith, Goldstar has the same program.

Sony has a new trade-in program powered by ecoNEW. Trade that old camera or something new and recycle your old product and planet friendly way. They even send you a prepaid shipping label, and give your trade-in reward as a prepaid Visa card.

MRM Recycling has recycling for Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba products. More than 30 drop-off centers in the Southeast have been added to the MRM Nationwide Recycling Program, which now totals 310 across all 50 states.

“Most MRM drop-off sites accept all types and brands of consumer electronics for recycling. MRM sites accept Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba brand TVs and consumer electronics such as VCRs and DVDs at no charge. There may be a charge for recycling other brands or products.”

CDs and DVDs can be recycled at most of these places. Swap.com lets you trade books, movies, and music.

EPA and E-cycling has a list of recycling places.

Earth911.com has a list of local recycle centers.

Vacuum Cleaner Recycling

Vacuum cleaners are an electronic appliance that ends up in the land fill much more frequently than other appliances. They are heavily used and are extremely mechanical, leading to a shortened lifespan. Here are some tips extend the life of your vacuum cleaner:

• If your vacuum is losing suction power, check the filters, change the bags, and check the hose
• Avoid water or even damp debris, leave those for wet-dry vacs
• Do not use a power brush on hardwood floors
• Pickup hard or sharp objects, nails, screws, paper clips so they cannot damage your vacuum
• If your motor does not start, check your bags and filters, also check for a reset switch

San Francisco Bay Area electronics recycling resources:

Alameda County Computer Resource Center recycles e-waste in the East Bay

CalRecycle.org has links to local recycle centers

myecollective has recycling location around the US

ERecycle.org has links to California electronics recycle centers

Green citizen recycle computers and other products in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara

Sony Electronics Trade-in program

Sony has a new trade-in program powered by ecoNEW. Trade that old camera or something new and recycle your old product and planet friendly way. They even send you a prepaid shipping label, and give your trade-in reward as a prepaid Visa card.

Be sure to read our article:

Extend Battery Life, Laptop Battery Life, iPhone Battery Life

Nike Air Jordan XX3 Mens Basketball Shoes are more eco friendly this year. Nike is using less adhesives, material waste, and recycled content in this new shoe.  This is something they did not want to play up as the consumers of this would not care too much.

Nike Grind recycles old shoes and turns them into useful items. Recycle bins are in all of their Nike US retail stores.