Electronic waste fills our homes up and down the country. A computer system from the 90s you’ve never quite been able to dispose of, an old iPhone with a cracked screen and signs of water damage, a couple of laptops whose batteries went kaput – we all have electronic waste like this somewhere in the house!
The more this kind of waste builds up, the more of an electronic load you’re going to carry. That’s not great for a home that’s already running out of space, and it’s often quite difficult to get rid of items like these when you finally get up the motivation to have a clear out.
As such, we’re here to remind you of five things that will make your clearout efforts a lot easier. You could even get some cash out of the job as well! And if that sounds like a great possibility to you, check out the tips below.
Some Items May Be Worth Something
This is the first thing to check before you put any of your old devices into the throw pile. If you can find out the name of the item in question, tap it into Google and see what other people have put them up for (if there are any to find).
What you thought was just a useless piece of junk at this point could be worth anywhere between $10 and $1000 to the right buyer!
You always want to double check this before you put something on the scrap heap; even when it’s completely broken and there’s no way to make it work again, the parts inside could be worth a good $20 to $50 to someone who likes to tinker. And if you have multiple devices to put online, you could pull in around $250 from this kind of scrap in one go.
Your Old Drives May Still Have Data on Them
Old computers, laptops, phones, cameras, and literally anything else that had a storage device installed in it somewhere could still have some data lingering on it. If you’re going to eb disposing of these electronics, make sure you wipe these drives before you chuck them out.
You don’t want anything important to fall into someone else’s hands, even if the information is technically out of date.
You also don’t want to throw out anything that could have some valuable memories still on them, such as old photographs and family videos, or journal entries and/or saved blog posts from a website you used to run years and years ago. Make sure you load up these drives and get the data off of them and save them somewhere else.
If that won’t be possible, either because the device itself won’t turn on or the drive seems to be corrupted or just won’t connect, reach out to a hard drive recovery service and send them the drive instead. They should be able to access the data and send it back to you, which will be great for your peace of mind.
Check if You Can Still Use Them
There could still be some life left inside the devices you’re thinking of throwing out, so check for this as well before you make your final decision. If the item in question was something you got a lot of enjoyment out of, such as an old games console you used to spend hours grinding games on, plug it in and load it up.
If it still comes on, and while it takes a bit more time than it used to, allows you to play a beloved old game for 20 minutes, it’s worth keeping that console for a bit longer. Just make sure you don’t get too distracted by gaming and get back to the task at hand once you’ve assessed this!
Look into Repair
Sometimes an old electronic device just needs a quick repair job! If the device you’re considering is one you’d love to keep, but you can’t seem to get it up and running, look for a repair option that’s close by.
Most cities will have at least two or three services in the area, and you can take the device around each one to see who can do it and who will give you the best price for the job.
You can also look up a tutorial on Youtube that could help you to fix the device yourself, if you feel you’re a handy kind of person and you’re willing to give that a try. Make sure you’re safe to do and you’ve got the right equipment!
You Can’t Just Throw Electronics Away
It’s true! When you’re dealing with electronic waste, you can’t just throw things out and then forget all about them. You’re going to need to dispose of them in the proper way, and make sure they don’t end up in landfill where they’re never going to get taken care of.
Just like batteries, you need to take your old electronics to a recycling centre and see if they have a bin for electronic waste. If they do, pop them in there and you’re done! If they don’t, you can ask if they know where else you can dispose of your devices.
Let’s Get Your Electronic Waste Load Down
Have you got a lot of electronic waste sitting around in your house? Then it’s more than time for a clearout! And with the tips above, you can be sure you’re doing so safely and effectively.
Never dispose of an old computer without checking the storage on it first, and never just throw something with electronics inside into your usual household rubbish. You’re going to need to take it to a specialist recycling centre that’s capable of getting rid of it properly.
And remember, even if it doesn’t turn on anymore, it could be worth something to someone! Throw up your good condition electronics on sites like Ebay, and even create listings for the bits of scrap you own too.
