Recycle Your Appliances & Electronics
When purchasing a new appliance or television, you might not have thought of what to do with the old one until the new one is in your home, ready to be installed. Now what? There’s always the option of putting your old TV in your bedroom and the old refrigerator in the garage. But then again, you replaced them because they were old, not working right, and didn’t match the new colors of your kitchen remodel.
Most waste management programs consider preventing waste even before it happens as the most viable option-even above recycling. This means if your appliance or electronic items are still in working condition, consider selling them or donating them to a charity or other donation center for reselling. The benefit for this is twofold: when the charity sells the item, the proceeds go to medical research or other worthwhile causes and some items end up in the homes of needy families to be used again.
If your appliance has seen better days and is in dire need of repair, skip the charities and donation centers and just recycle the item so that someone else doesn’t end up with your problems. In most cases, recycling doesn’t cost you anything but a small amount of your time and you just might end up with a few dollars in your wallet in the form of cash or a tax deduction on your annual return.
WHY RECYCLE?
There are a multitude of reasons to recycle your appliances and electronics-the most important of which is pollution-or rather the prevention of pollution. When you see a TV sitting quietly curbside waiting for the weekly trash pickup service, you can be sure there are toxic chemicals inside the unit that can pollute our earth and waterways. Other forms of pollution are the efforts needed to mine new resources-such as aluminum, gold, and steel-instead of reusing what’s already been dug up and processed.
The best thing to do is find a local recycling center to donate your items. If they have free, local pickup, your end of the deal could be no more than placing a phone call and setting the item outside in an area accessible to their crew. The recycling center will disassemble the unit to retrieve metals and other items that are used again-recycled-to create new TVs and other products.
CRT Processing Corporation (Janesville, WI)
They specialize in the proper recycling of used or obsolete
computer monitors, televisions, and other electronic equipment.
HAUL IT AWAY
One option you’ve got that won’t cost you time or money is to have hhgregg haul your old unit away-for free-on a one-for-one exchange basis. This means our delivery team will haul away your old refrigerator when they arrive to deliver your new refrigerator. Now that’s service! Here’s a list of items that hhgregg will haul away when they arrive to deliver a like item:
| Refrigerators Washers/Dryers Ranges |
Microwave Ovens Dishwashers Televisions |
If you have any questions about this policy, please review our “Home Delivery Do’s and Don’ts” or contact the hhgregg store nearest your home.
OPTIONS & CHOICES
You can be sure that every single appliance and home electronics piece of equipment in your home-including video consoles/games and cell phones-has a recycling center that wants your stuff. Here are some resources to find an organization to handle your unwanted items:
Samsung – Launched on October 1, 2008, Samsung Recycling DirectSM is a national program which enables consumers to conveniently and responsibly recycle their old electronics. Samsung Recycling DirectSM provides more than 170 fixed drop off locations spread out over all 50 states. To find the location nearest you, click here.
myGreenElectronics – Learn about the 4 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink) and find recycling centers in your neighborhood by ZIP Code.
AT&T Reuse and Recycle – They offer the option to bring unwanted cell phones, Personal Data Assistants (PDAs) and other accessories (regardless of the manufacturer or carrier) to an AT&T operated store or participating authorized dealer store near you. Use the store locator to find a participating store near you.
Earth 911 – Earth 911 is a comprehensive communication medium for the environment. Earth 911 has taken environmental hotlines, web sites and other information sources nationwide, and consolidated them into one network. Once you contact the Earth 911 network, you will find community-specific information on eCycling and much more.
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) – If it’s rechargeable, it’s recyclable! RBRC can help you recycle portable rechargeable batteries commonly found in cordless power tools, cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras, and remote control toys. Search for collection sites by Zip Code.
Sony – Has a recycling program that makes it easy to dispose of electronics in an environmentally-safe way. Bring your unwanted electronic products to any participating drop off center and recycle it for free.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) – Their recycling program includes hardware, LaserJet supplies, and Inkjet supplies. They also have a trade-in program.
LG Electronics – Offers consumers-free of charge-recycling of any product such as televisions, monitors, audio equipment, video cassette players and recorders, DVD players and recorders, combination TV/VCR and TV/DVD units, set top boxes and accessories associated with those products that have the LG, Zenith, or Goldstar brands. Consumers can drop off up to five items at any one time for free at any of these locations.
Toshiba – With the Toshiba Free Electronic Program you can recycle your old electronics regardless of the brand and at no cost to you. They also provide a trade-in option should you want to trade in your used products for cash.
Motorola – Consumers can visit Motorola’s website to print out postage-paid mailing labels (PDF) and send in any unused phones or accessories. They accept any mobile phone or accessory-not just Motorola products.
1-800-Got-Junk? – Full-service junk removal company that will remove almost anything-including appliances. Plus, they do all the loading and cleanup-wherever the item is located. This means you don’t have to lift a finger and they’ll retrieve the item out of your basement, garage, kitchen, etc.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The most important thing to remember is that we all have choices in the proper disposing of appliances and electronics that don’t work anymore or have been replaced with the latest and greatest advances in technology. Dumping them in the trash is not an option and could have long-term affects on the environment-where we all live and breathe.
Some states have enacted legislation around disposal of consumer electronics. Since July 20, 2006, all waste computer monitors and televisions generated by households in the state of Maine must be recycled unless shipped out of state for disposal. For information on regulations in your area, contact your local municipality to inquire about private and state-funded recycling programs.
Still have questions?-feel free to speak with an hhgregg associate. We offer the best-educated associates in the business who are smart enough to make it simple. Price and Advice Guaranteed!
