Today the mail brought a copy of Heifer International's WorldArk magazine. On page 7 they feature the licensed electronics recycler MyBoneyard.com.Although I've drug home a few cell phone recycling mailers, I've never felt totally comfortable sending used cell phones to semi-anonymous organizations collecting them. The Boneyard guarantees to strip and permanently delete personal information from recycled products. They also email you a link to a prepaid shipping label, so all you have to do is package your item and drop it in the nearest post office box.
If your PC, laptop, cell phone, or flat panel monitor has resale value, the Boneyard will credit you a reward on a Visa debit card.
Whenever possible products are remarketed and reused (the best form of recycling). Older and damaged products are disassembled and some components can be reused. Remaining waste material is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. Because of the hazardous elements used in electronics, this kind of recycling can keep a lot of nasty materials out of the landfill.
So, if you community isn't lucky enough to have a Free Geek-like recycling initiative, please consider disposing of your unwanted electronics through environmentally responsible companies like the Boneyard.
I'll be shipping out 5 old cell phones tomorrow. These old and feeble phones have no resale value, but I'm glad to think someone can reuse some of the parts. And another dark corner of the Jones house will become a little cleaner...
It is my understanding that, except in the ones with massive additional memory, all you have to do is strip out the sim chip to anonymize your phone before turning it in. (If you do have additional memory, just make sure to wipe any important stored info beyond phone books and such.)
ReplyDeletesome carriers (like Verizon) don't use SIM chips.
ReplyDelete