If you have older electronics that need to be disposed of, you may be wondering how you can safely and efficiently dispose of these items without risking the environment. Getting rid of your old electronics isn’t as easy as tossing them in with regular trash. You could be risking your local ecosystem by choosing to dispose of electronic waste improperly. Here are some of the most popular ways that you can recycle old electronics:

E-waste is typically classified as electronic products that are not working, outdated, or unwanted. Usually, these take on the forms of outdated computers, televisions, DVD players, fax machines, copiers, and more. When electronic products reach the end of their lifespan, discarding them can be a little more difficult than going down to your local landfill and putting them in with regular household waste. The process of disposing of unwanted electronics has been a challenge since the 1970s and there have been some massive changes in this industry. 

The Global Cost of Electronic Waste: Apple has already sold millions of the new iPhone 7, which started shipping this month. For many who bought one, the device replaces a perfectly good, recent model. True, after a couple years an iPhone might start showing signs of wear: The home button sticks, or the glass might be cracked. Some of these defects can be repaired, although few choose repair over upgrade. Here we talk about the global cost of electric waste.

Incentive To Innovate: China Will No Longer Take Our Junk For Recycling Beijing notified the World Trade Organization in July that it planned to ban imports of 24 varieties of solid waste, including types of plastic and unsorted paper commonly sent from the United States. The reason given was environmental protection: Large amounts of dirty and hazardous constituents are often mixed with these materials.

E-waste is growing, and with that surge comes the need for effective electronics recycling programs. People are urgently looking for information on TV recycling, computer recycling, and other programs that will help them responsibly get rid of unwanted equipment ​while minimizing any risk of information or identity theft.

This is a blog on the work of the Value Recovery From Used Electronics Project, organized by iNEMI (the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative). The focus of this project is to move towards a more circular economy for hard disk drives (HDDs), with the ultimate goal of “making hard drives from hard drives”. This article is based upon materials from the iNEMI Value Recovery Committee. Here we talk about the value recovery from hard disk drives.