E-waste is one of the most pressing environmental issues we have today, and it’s something many of us play a role in. As we become more and more dependent on electronics and buy electronics more often, the amount of electronic waste will continue to rise if nothing is done to stop it. Although e-waste is a huge concern, we can all do our part to help prevent it from getting worse.
Here are eight ways to safely manage e-waste and prevent it from growing.
Learn the Important of Managing E-Waste
The first thing you should do to help reduce the amount of e-waste you create is to learn the importance of preventing e-waste. Many people might not be fully aware of the worldwide e-waste problem that affects each one of us. If you’re unaware of the dangerous chemicals that e-waste has, you might not fully understand why it’s so important to stop it, or you might not feel like you need to do as much as you can to help. Before doing anything else, educate yourself and others in your life on the effects e-waste has on the environment and what you can do to help.
Buy Only What You Need
Many of us tend to over-buy items that we don’t really need, which can create a lot of unnecessary waste. To reduce the amount of e-waste being produced, you need to make sure you aren’t consuming more than you need. Maybe you’re replacing some computers at work, and decide it’s better to replace them all at once, even though you don’t need them. You might also just want a newer version of a device even though the one you have is fine. Before buying anything, ask yourself if it’s really necessary. Being smarter about buying electronics is a great way to help prevent more e-waste from occurring.
Keep a List of What You Have
Individuals and companies might not always be aware of the number of devices and accessories for those devices they actually have. Things can easily get misplaced and forgotten about, so you might have more than you need already. You don’t want to think you need to buy something, not knowing that you already have it or let it go to waste. To help make you aware of exactly all the electronics you own, keep a list of what you have.
Take Care of What You Have
We all know how easily electronics can break. Of course, sometimes damage is out of your control, so you can’t always prevent electronics from breaking. Still, doing everything you can to expand the lives of your electronics will help you keep them longer, so you don’t have to rebuy them as often. This is also a great way of saving you money, and once you make a habit of maintaining your devices, it’s very easy to do.
Donate Old Electronics That Still Work
Just because you’re done using something doesn’t necessarily mean you have to recycle it just yet. There are plenty of instances where people get rid of old electronics that still have life left in them. If your old devices are still usable, consider donating to people who could benefit from them. While recycling is extremely important, there’s no reason to recycle old devices when they’re still in good shape.
Utilize the Cloud
Today, there isn’t as much need for hard drives to store everything you need. Instead, you can keep everything stored in the cloud. This can help make everything you need easily accessible and makes it easier to share with others, but it’s also good for anyone concerned about e-waste. By normalizing the use of the cloud, you can help reduce the demand that’s normally placed on hard drives.
Protect Your Data
Sensitive data that you don’t want other people to get access to is harder to get rid of than you might think. Before you donate, sell, or recycle any old electronics, you need to be sure that your data is fully wiped from it. At Newtech Recycling, we can help ensure that your data is completely wiped before recycling so that you can get rid of unwanted devices as safely as possible.
Find Your Local Recycling Center
Electronics don’t get recycled the same way your other recyclable items do. Disposing of electronic devices the right way is easy but does require you to take some extra steps. To recycle your old electronics, you’ll need to find your local e-waste recycling center. You also want to make sure that anywhere you bring old electronics to be recycled is taken care of properly. This helps ensure that no electronic waste ends up in landfills.
Contact Newtech Recycling today to learn more about how we can help with electronic waste recycling.