Two recent events inspire today’s blog in my life:
- My old computer finally gave out after using it for over seven years. I bought it in my first year of undergrad, and it handled all the work I needed it to do through my undergraduate and master’s degrees. At the end of its life, the battery could no longer hold a charge, and it had a faulty screen and a broken charger.
- With only working part-time right now, I have more time than tasks to do. I’ve decided to allocate some of that time to declutter my space properly. We have lived in the same house for over 20 years, and it has been so easy to accumulate things. Amongst other junk I’ve found, I have also found my old broken phones.
So, now I have a broken computer and a couple of broken phones. What should I do with them? Recycle them!
Why is recycling your old electronics important?
Electronics contain precious materials that can be recycled and used for new electronics. Coltan is one of these materials found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Due to it being highly sought after, coltan mining has created many conflicts, especially with the use of child labour and the destruction of gorilla habitats.
Where can you recycle your old electronics?
Depending on the condition of your electronics, you may be able to receive store credit that you can use towards the purchase of a new device. Two stores in Canada that may give credit for your used devices are Apple and BestBuy. You can use the following links to estimate the trade-in value of your old device.
- Apple (https://www.apple.com/ca/trade-in/)
- BestBuy (https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/event/trade-in-program/blt339c714a25ebe963)
You may also consider recycling your electronics at Electronic Recycling Association (https://www.electronicrecyclingassociation.ca).
If you are like me and are spending your extra quarantine time to do an extensive clean of your living space, please recycle any old electronics that you find so that there is a reduced need to mine new materials for new electronics.
Cheers,
Christine
Christine Song 