So my friend at works says "Do you guys take in things to recycle?" Well, yes and no. We recycle things that we can use, so wood and metal pieces are useful to me when I'm making furniture. What isn't really desirable are things like computers and old monitors or even old cell phones. I must not be alone in feeling that way because these are rapidly becoming a ticking time-bomb in our landfills. We must consider that most of these devices contain heavy metals and batteries when dropping them in the trash or hiding them in a black bag on the curb.
From the EPA's site:
"Of the 2.25 million tons of TVs, cell phones and computer products ready for end-of-life (EOL) management, 18% (414,000 tons) was collected for recycling and 82% (1.84 million tons) was disposed of, primarily in landfills.
A lot of arm-twisting is leading to companies accepting back some of the electronics they sell, such as Best Buy and Dell. The other interesting development is companies that are making money from these castoffs. That same friend sent me a link to a website called http://www.myboneyard.com/ that pays you based on a schedule of the type of equipment and condition.
Kind of cool, although we both agreed we can't figure out how these guys make any money because they pay for the shipping as well. So they give you a shipping label and then cut you a check. It doesn't seem like they pay much, but for an old Ipod that just keeps getting moved around the home office maybe it's worth it to get a check for $13. If it would have gotten tossed in the trash instead of in the mail, I'm sure the planet thinks it is worth it.
-Charles
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