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A Technological How-To: Recycling for the 21st Century

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chatham chapter.

Between the countless blue bins advocating for a “greener earth, one bottle at a time!” to the square bins with perfectly fitted slots that allow just enough paper to enter one sheet at a time, recycling is everywhere. But what about electronics recycling? Electronic waste is a global issue affecting countries outside of the United States, such as Asia and Africa. E-waste (electronic waste) either goes into a landfill for hundreds of years or gets incinerated, which releases harmful, heavy metals like cadmium, lead, and mercury. More specifically, mercury gets reabsorbed into the water system and has a particularly harmful effect on fish. In this manner, humans can consume these fish and also take in the mercury. Thank goodness for recycling programs! Here are the top 5 businesses that recycle e-waste.

1. Best Buy
These stores have some of the best recycling programs for e-waste. The website details and dictates exactly what it will and will not accept. For some larger items, they may charge up to $10, but they turn it around and give you a Best Buy gift card. Furthermore, they permit you to take in up to three items per day for recycling!

2. Staples
Staples stores offer $2 rewards for every 10 ink cartridges you bring in!

3. Office Depot
These stores offer boxes (Tech Recycling Boxes) in a range of prices and sizes that are made specifically for e-waste disposal. They take anything you can stuff into these boxes, as long as the lids close.

4. Call2Recycle
This non-profit program partners with businesses to offer recycling close to home. Visit their website to find partnering businesses near you!

5. e-Stewards
By typing in your zipcode, you can be sure you’re taking your e-waste to a safe, secure site. e-Stewards is a program run by BAN (Basel Action Network), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving environmental quality and confronting the environmental injustice caused by toxic chemicals worldwide.

Sources:

Best Buy

Call2Recycle

CD Recycling Center

e-Stewards

Greenpeace

 

  Mara Flanagan is entering her seventh semester as a Chapter Advisor. After founding the Chatham University Her Campus chapter in November 2011, she served as Campus Correspondent until graduation in 2015. Mara works as a freelance social media consultant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She interned in incident command software publicity at ADASHI Systems, gamification at Evive Station, iQ Kids Radio in WQED’s Education Department, PR at Markowitz Communications, writing at WQED-FM, and marketing and product development at Bossa Nova Robotics. She loves jazz, filmmaking and circus arts.