Tag: ewaste

Recycling 101: Electonic Waste

Recycling 101: Electronics

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Recycling 101: Electonic Waste

When cleaning out a closet recently, I was stunned by the amount of cables, old cell phones, lithium batteries (hard pack) and other e-waste I found. “E-waste” is the industry shorthand for electonic waste. And, boy, are we creating it all around the world?

Global e-waste reached a recordĀ 62 million tons in 2022, a figure expected to rise to 82 million tons by 2030. Only 22.3% of this waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022, creating massive environmental and health hazards. E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing waste stream, increasing five times faster than documented recycling efforts. – World Health Organization

We are happy to partner with Ecycle Atlanta at our Spring Clean Up 2026 at Thurman Springs Park to help our citizens dispose of their old equipment responsibly. This FREE drop off day allows you to bring all of your old electronics for free and safe disposal. All items will be sorted, dismantled, and checked for any data holding devices including, but not limited to hard drive, floppy disks, data tapes, cds, usb thumb drives, tablets, and cell phones.

All data holding media will then be segregated for secure destruction. Hard drives do not need to pulled from computers in advance of pick up or drop off unless required by a customer. You can learn more about the security measures and processes they follow at Ecycle Atlanta.

ACCEPTED ITEMS INCLUDE:

  • computers (desktop/tower)
  • laptops
  • servers (tower/rack units)
  • networking equipment
  • telecom equipment
  • LCD monitors & TVs
  • printers
  • copiers
  • modems/routers
  • cable/satellite boxes
  • USB, video & power cords
  • audio/video equipment
  • all circuit boards
  • UPS/battery backups
  • lead acid non-spillable batteries
  • lithium-ion batteries
  • cell phones & other mobile devices
  • barcode scanners
  • office phones/phone systems
  • insulated cables/wires
  • video consoles & games
  • ipads/tablets/e-readers
  • keyboards/mice
  • stereo equipment
  • ….and more!

Less Waste for the Holidays – eWaste

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Holiday memories from my childhood include my father in the living room patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) laying out strands of lights to see what we had that was functional. Those large bulb, energy suckers did indeed warm an entire room and would even burn small fingers if you got too close. I think about that each year and I have now inherited that ritual with much small and more energy efficient strands for our tree.

I don’t remember what my father did with each year’s rejects, but I fear that yet sit in the bottom of a landfill somewhere south of Atlanta. But as the saying goes, “when we know better, we do better.” While there are a plethora of options for us, we do have a few places we can go to responsibly take care of our eWaste.

Check out this list of local resources below to see where you might be able to take eWaste you find around your home this holiday season:

  • ReWorx Recycling accepts electronics, metals and other recyclables ensuring eco-friendly disposal. Items accepted include but are not limited to computers, gaming consoles, home audio equipment, old exercise equipment and even lawn and garden tools!
  • Ecycle Atlanta can help you with disposal of materials that might contain sensitive information. See a list of all their items here.
  • Home Depot locations run an “Eco Options Light Trade In” during the Christmas season.
  • HolidayLeds.com is a mail-in program that recycles Christmas lights all year long.