Category: Articles

How to Recycle a Laptop
How to Recycle a Laptop

There are many reasons you may want to dispose of your old laptop; maybe the battery life is lagging, it isn’t working properly, or you are just ready to try out the newest technologies of the season. No matter the reason, it is important to consider the increasing upgrade cycle of electronics and its effect on the environment.  However, knowing how to recycle a laptop can be difficult. Laptops contain valuable materials including gold, silver, and platinum. They also contain dangerous heavy metals and hazardous chemicals. Recycling your laptop ensures that hazards are handled safely and resources are preserved. E-waste recycling programs follow local recycling regulations to protect the community, while also ensuring that your private data is secure. Prepare […]

Cell Phone Destruction through Ship N Shred
Cell Phone Destruction through Ship N Shred

Old cell phones pose a risk of exposing personal and business information. Cell phones hold lots of sensitive information including login credentials, account numbers, contacts, and other data. Destroying your old phones is the only way to ensure that your data remains private. Cell phone companies and manufacturers may offer trade-in benefits for old phones, but often the benefit is not worth the risk. Factory resets have been proven ineffective at completely clearing your data. A study done at Cambridge University found that you can retrieve a phone’s master code 80% of the time after a factory reset. Hackers can use the code to access all of your “deleted” information to steal financial data and commit identity theft.  Why Should […]

The Rise of Vape Waste: A Looming Environmental Crisis
The Rise of Vape Waste

In recent years, the popularity of vaping has skyrocketed, with millions of people worldwide turning to e-cigarettes as an alternative to traditional tobacco products. While many people perceive vaping as a less harmful option for smokers, a concerning issue has emerged alongside its rise: the problem of vape waste. In this blog, we’ll look at the alarming statistics, environmental problems, and potential solutions related to vape waste.  The Alarming Statistics: A Growing Concern The rise of vaping has led to an increase in the production and disposal of vaping-related products. Consider these statistics: The Problems with Vape Waste What We Can Do The rise of vape waste is a growing environmental issue that requires collective action to mitigate. Here’s what […]

How Is E-Waste Recycled?
How is e waste recycled? Electronics Recycling Finder can help

Electronics play a huge role in our daily lives. As soon as you wake up, it is likely that you check your phone or peek at your smartwatch before you have even get out of bed. As our dependence on electronics grows, so does the waste stream left in its wake. Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. The demand for devices continues to increase as the lifespan of each device shortens, sending millions of pounds of toxic waste into landfills. Chemicals from e-waste seep into the ground and pollute the air, causing dangerous health and environmental consequences. E-waste recycling protects humans and wildlife from the damage of e-waste. It conserves natural resources, saves energy, and […]

How to Recycle Old Cell Phones
How to Recycle Old Cell Phones

It’s no surprise that technology evolves at a rapid rate. As a result, we frequently find ourselves upgrading to newer and more advanced cell phones. While it’s exciting to have the latest gadgets, it’s equally important to consider what happens to our old devices. Discarding them in the trash can harm the environment. Unfortunately, it was estimated that 5.3 billion phones were thrown away in 2022. Knowing how to recycle old cell phones is a responsible and eco-friendly choice.  Before you retire your trusty smartphone for the latest model, let’s explore the path of responsible disposal and recycling. Your actions can make a substantial difference in preserving our planet for generations to come. In this blog, we’ll explore why recycling […]

How to Wipe a Computer Before Recycling
how to wipe a computer before recycling

If it’s time to give up on an old computer, it’s important to know how to wipe it before either recycling or donating it. The amount of data stored on a personal or work computer is a treasure trove for data thieves, and wiping that data properly will protect you and your sensitive information.  This is true whether you’re recycling, donating, or selling that old computer. While recycling will typically involve shredding of the hard drive, rendering the data unreadable, it’s still smart to wipe it beforehand. Thankfully, for most modern computers, the process is fairly straightforward.  How to Wipe a Windows Computer  If you’re operating a Windows computer from Windows 8 and onwards, you can wipe the hard drive […]

How to Reduce E-Waste: Easy Steps to Follow
how to reduce e-waste at home, in the office, and raise awareness

Each year, the world produces mountains of e-waste, weighing in at over 60 million tons a year. As we continue to incorporate technology into every facet of our lives, that number continues to grow. As a result, figuring out how we reduce that e-waste becomes more and more important as the years go on.  Increasing the urgency to reduce our e-waste output is the toxicity of the equipment as it decomposes. Most electronics contain toxic chemicals and elements like cadmium, mercury, and other rare earth elements that can poison the soil, water, and air around their disposal site.  Recycling e-waste helps prevent this but reducing e-waste can also benefit the environment and, often, your wallet.  How to Reduce E-Waste at […]

IT Recycling for Security and E-Waste Reduction
office computers for it recycling

A company’s IT department is responsible for maintaining technology through its whole lifecycle. This commonly includes troubleshooting onboarding, technology setup, or, too often, asking if a coworker had restarted their computer to see if it solved the problem. However, the end of a piece of technology’s life cycle can not be solved with a simple restart. That requires recycling, and IT is often tasked with ensuring the safe disposal of the technology and its data.  The Importance of IT Recycling  While individuals should recycle their computers, phones, and other electronics to help reduce e-waste, the scale of the job for IT departments makes an effective recycling process even more crucial. When upgrading or replacing old systems, this often means hundreds […]

How to Recycle a Laptop Battery
recycle laptop battery featured image electronics recycling finder

Laptop batteries have improved in leaps and bounds in the past couple of decades. They last longer, charge faster, and hold on to their charge a lot longer. However, they’re not perfect, and eventually, every laptop battery will wear out, and you will need to recycle it.  Laptop batteries are filled with valuable materials, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, that can be reused and repurposed when you dispose of them properly. Explore not only the environmental benefits but also the practical steps you can take to ensure you’re recycling old laptop batteries while reducing your carbon footprint. Where to Recycle a Laptop Battery No matter where you are, you should not put an old laptop battery in your regular […]

E-Waste Disposal Guidelines for Individuals
e-waste guidelines for best recycling practices featured image

When it comes time to part with an old piece of technology, the goodbye can become a bit complicated. Computers, cell phones, TVs, and other electronics can’t simply be tossed into the trash can. Figuring out how exactly to dispose of an old electronic may seem like a complicated puzzle. A cheat sheet of e-waste disposal guidelines helps you solve it quickly and easily.  E-Waste Guidelines for Computer and Cell Phones To start, guidelines for proper e-waste disposal can depend on what state you reside in. For example, California law requires proper disposal for many kinds of e-waste, but also provides their residents with drop-off locations around the state. Most states don’t have disposal requirements as stringent as California, but […]