JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 26, 2017 – Did your household receive a few new electronics this holiday season? We recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, even yard waste, but what happens to the estimated 3.5 million tons of used electronics American’s discard annually? Not to mention the 150 million cell phones we discard each year. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources recommends e-cycling your old, worn out electronic waste rather than sending it to a landfill.
Electronics have become one of the fastest growing waste streams in America. If you decided it was time to trade up your product for a newer model, consider these possibilities before you throw those items in the trash.
- Reuse it - You can add memory or other upgrades to old computers. You can connect your gaming systems, VCRs or DVD players to working televisions.
- Donate it - Schools, nursing homes and other organization might have a need for a television to watch movies or even training videos. Computers can be refurbished and used for a variety of things. Cell phones can be used as emergency use cell phones for the elderly, disabled, battered women's shelters, etc.
After you've gone through and reused or donated unwanted electronic equipment, help reduce the remaining electronic waste from this holiday season by e-cycling your worn out computers, cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, DVD players, gaming systems, TVs and all those other electronic items through e-cycle Missouri. This statewide electronics recycling program was developed to make good use of your e-trash. An electronics recycler can remove potentially hazardous materials and reduce the amount of waste going into landfills. Doing so will not only help prevent those materials from accidentally being exposed to the environment but also means the materials can be reused to make new products. Visit our electronics website to learn more.
###