15 reasons to recycle or reuse your electronic gadgets

When you buy a new mobile phone, what do you do with the old one? If the answer to this question is ‘throw it away’, read on to discover 15 compelling reasons why you should reuse or recycle your electronic gadgets instead.

1. Help reduce e-waste – By reusing or recycling your gadgets, you are making a positive step towards eliminating e-waste.
2. Someone else needs your device – If you are thinking about throwing away your television or mobile phone because you want to upgrade to a new one, why not donate your gadget to someone else? There are many underprivileged families that would appreciate your functional device, and it’s much better going to good use than to landfill.
3. Do your bit for the planet – Everyone has a responsibility to do their bit for the planet, and recycling electronic products is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do so.
4. Save money – Recycling can save you some cash, and this is because there are retailers and manufacturers that offer deals when you return an old device. You may find that you get a voucher or a discount on a new item.
5. Prevent contamination – By reusing or recycling your electronic gadgets, you can ensure your gadgets don't end up in landfills, where there is the potential for hazardous chemicals to leak into water supplies.
6. Save precious metal from going to waste – If you throw away an electronic device, you are also throwing away tons of precious metal. Did you know that one million mobile phones contains more than 35,000 pounds of copper as well as approximately 770 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium? These metals can be melted down and reused.
7. Create jobs – You are creating jobs for professional refurbishers and recyclers, and new markets are also created for the valuable components that are dismantled.
8. You’ll feel good about yourself – A positive deed will make you feel good about yourself and about life.
9. Less production waste – Not only are you helping to reduce e-waste, but you will also reduce production waste too, as you provide resources that would otherwise need to be produced or mined.

10. It’s easy – Recycling electronics is easier than it ever has been so there is no need to increase the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that societies are producing. There are so many different ways you can reuse or recycle your gadgets, from passing them onto someone else, to using the services of a certified e-cycler, to manufacturer take-back programs.

1. Conserve energy – Did you know that when you recycle a mobile phone you are actually conserving enough material to create more than 40 hours of laptop battery time?
2. Save landfill space – Landfill space is conserved for items that cannot be re-used or recycled.

13. Secure data destruction – By using the services of a specialist WEEE recycling company, you can also be sure that your data will be destroyed securely, which is of paramount importance when you consider the increasing threat of identity fraud.

1. Prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals – You can prevent exposure to the likes of cadmium, bromide, mercury, and lead by reusing electronic gadgets.
2. There are plenty of cool ways to reuse your gadgets – There is an an abundance of innovative and creative ways for reusing your old gadgets.

The author has written and published articles on a wide range of topics including Small Business Advice, Tax and Accounting, Interior Design, House Renovation and Project Management.