Prompted by a recent conversation with a dear friend about recycling, I started thinking about all of those "hard-to-recycle" items. Mostly electronics. I think by now most of us know that there are a lot of bad things in electronic equipment that should not end up in landfills. But taking time out of our lives to drive out to a recycling center is not practical for a lot of us - it's just much easier to toss that broken monitor in the trash bin.
So here are a few places that will take your electronic trash, with only a little effort on your part and either for free or for pretty cheap:
CFL Bulbs: The Home Depot will accept used CFL bulbs at any store, at the returns desk, for free. Note: They need to be unbroken bulbs. See the press release for more info.
CDs, DVDs, and Jewel Cases: There are a number of organizations that will take in CDs and DVDs and their cases, and many will do so for free. I like the CD Recycling Center of America because it has an easy to navigate Web site and is very clear about how the material should be packaged and what will happen to it. I actually just packed up a box to ship today. The CD Recycling Center does not charge for the service; however, you will need to pay for shipping. If you send your box via USPS, you can use media mail and it shouldn't be too expensive.
Other Electronic Equipment: Costco will not only recycle your old electronics for free, the company may even pay you for your equipment. Through the Costco Trade-In and Recycle Program, Costco will recycle your notebook PC, Mp3 player, digital camera, printer, monitor, etc. Simply follow the directions on the Web site to determine if your item still has any value - if it does, Costco will give you a gift card for recycling the item. For example, I went through the steps on my 5-year old Dell notebook and had an estimated valuation of $60. Not bad. And even if your item doesn't meet criteria for a trade-in, you can still send the item in for recycling for free. Costco will send you a pre-paid shipping label, and you just need to drop off the item and a shipping center. I like that the program has a zero tolerance landfill policy.
Another place to recycle electronics is through Sony's recycling program. Sony is working with Waste Management so that you can take old electronics to Waste Management drop-off centers for recycling - for free.
