subject: Sell used cell phones to reduce the impact of growing Technological waste [print this page] Sell used cell phones to reduce the impact of growing Technological waste
The technological advancements has come up to a level where we are getting continuously allured of new features in electronical gadgets and this selfish expenditures is posing serious threats to the environment we survive in. Be it a new laptop, personal desktop, a digital camcorder or the new iphone. Have you ever wondered what happens to electronics when they die? Where do they go? What becomes of them? A lot of people will take them to a repair shop. Some people just throw the smaller ones out.
A many a times they end up taking up space in an attic, closet or basement, sometimes people donate them to various organizations and at times you can find them sitting out at the curb while the owners hope that the trash collectors will pick them up. If they do manage to get picked up by trash collectors and end up in a landfill, the chemicals that the plastic casings were treated with will eventually get into the groundwater causing problems.
So what can be done? If your old units still work but have merely been eclipsed by newer models, then by all means donate them to a needy cause that will either put them to good use or resell them to help fund their programs. You'll earn a tax deduction for a charitable donation and, by keeping the equipment alive, prevent the manufacture of new units and thus, if ever so slightly, reduce the footprint of your operations.
But not every charity accepts old equipment, and no one wants to spend all day calling around to find one that does. A good place to look, then, is organizations which will accept your equipment and then sell it through retail stores across the country. There are fund programs to help the disabled, illiterate, homeless, and those on welfare by providing job training and placement programs. These programs typically accept donated old office equipment.
While finding a new home for your old gear is preferable, whether it is computers or cell phones, recycling is also an option. Recyclers harvest parts from old equipment that can be reused or resold. Several websites list electronics recyclers across the U.S which is involved in technological gadgets recycling or cell phone recycling programmes.
Taking a decision for recycling phones you are helping to conserve resources. It can also earn money for you or be a donation to your favorite charity. The effort required to this is very little more than the effort required to put it in the trash, and a good bit more rewarding. However old phones you have, for whatever reason, are easy enough to recycle. Instead of going to landfill you can earn cash for phones, for a charity or become vital emergency equipment for the vulnerable. All this means getting money and saving energy which further has to be expended for the mining of the various minerals which are consumed during the manufacturing process for the production of mobile phones.
