If you look around your home and even yourself, you’ll notice we use a lot of electronics these days. For many people, it’s hard to imagine life without them, and some have never known it. Some of us old enough to remember the days before cell phones and tablets look back with a laugh at how much less convenient life was back then!
All electronics have a shelf life, and there comes a day when they break or just stop working. In addition, people often decide to get a bigger and nicer TV, the latest iPhone, a surround-sound system, etc. When any of these occur, and you need to get rid of old and/or broken electronics it’s essential to know how and where to throw electronics away.
We will explain several options so you can decide what works best for you.
First, though, take some precautions. Remove all personal information from computers, phones, and tablets. It’s best just to wipe them clean. Also, remove any batteries and make sure you dispose of rechargeable batteries separately at a location that will accept them.
If you have only a few small items to fit into your trash bin, this is probably the easiest and most convenient option. The benefits are that it doesn’t cost you any extra money and that it requires little effort on your part. However, there are some possible downsides. One is that your trash service might not take them since some locations won’t allow certain electronics in landfills because of the hazardous materials they contain; therefore, it’s essential to check about this ahead of time. Also, although it’s probably only a minor inconvenience, you’re stuck with those old electronics taking up space until collection day comes along.
If the items are accepted at landfills but are too large or too many to go out in the trash, you can haul them to a dump yourself. Taking electronics to a landfill is easiest if you have a pickup truck or SUV with flat rear seats. Downsides to this option include that you have to do everything yourself, you might have to pay a fee, and there might not be a landfill that close to you.
If you’d prefer to reduce your ecological footprint by reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills, you can try to recycle your old electronics. Look for take-back or trade-in programs from retailers and manufacturers, see if there are local E-waste collection events, or try the next option.
If your item(s) is still in working order, you can try finding someone else who wants it. You can find someone with a post on Craigslist, neighborhood HOA forums, local social media groups, and other sites. Also, check with local charitable organizations, schools, etc., to see if they could use them. You’ll probably have better chances of getting a hit if you offer delivery, but many people are happy to do the pickup themselves for something free or cheap.
Even if your items aren’t in usable condition anymore, you can still try this option. For example, you might find somebody who wants them for their parts or a project.
If putting your old electronics in the trash isn’t allowed and you can’t find someone to buy or take them, you can try to find a hazardous waste facility that will accept household items. This can also be an option if you don’t have enough to justify renting a dumpster and what a junk removal service charges seems too high. The disposal will be free or at a low cost to you, but the type or number of items may be limited, you’ll have to haul everything yourself, and there may not be a facility within reasonable driving distance.
This is the way to go if you just want your old electronics off your hands ASAP. Call a junk removal service and arrange for them to come over and give you a quote. It will be based on volume, so the more there is, the more you’ll pay. If you agree to the price, though, they’ll do the removal, hauling, and disposal for you.
A roll-off dumpster differs from the cube-shaped bin with a folding top you might be thinking of. Those are dumpsters for large quantities of regular trash, so you often see them behind restaurants, stores, and other commercial facilities.
Instead, a roll-off dumpster is rectangular in shape and has an open top that makes disposing of most items easy. They come in different sizes to suit the needs of the task at hand. Then, the rental company delivers them to your location by rolling them off a truck with a hydraulic bed. After that, you fill it on your preferred schedule, and when you’re done, the rental company returns and hauls everything away, taking care of the rest.
Again, this option assumes you can send the particular items to a landfill, so check first.
There’s rarely going to be a situation where a roll-off dumpster makes sense for the disposal of just a few electronics, so you might want to wait until something like a spring cleanout to put your electronics and other waste into a dumpster. Other times that are good for renting a roll-off dumpster include projects like renovations and remodels of bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and other rooms and building a man cave or movie room. Then, as you give those places a new look, you can get rid of the old electronics and make room for the new ones.
With RGH Waste & Disposal, you’ll get the best dumpster rental in Orlando. We offer same- or next-day delivery and pickup, upfront competitive pricing, outstanding customer service, and an unmatched reputation for excellence.
Lisa is the General Manager of RGH Waste and Disposal LLC. After many years of working in waste management, Lisa has ‘seen it all’ and then some! She knows the 'ins' and 'outs' of waste disposal and has a wealth of experience from years of working with first-time dumpster renters to seasoned commercial clients.
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