Ask HN: Who do you trust when it comes to recycling electronics?

2 pointsthinkingtoilet2 comments

I know sometimes places like Best Buy say they take them but I am suspicious of if they are properly disposing of old electronics. I am happy to pay for this to make sure they are recycled as best as they can be. These are very old phones and laptops that do not work anymore. Who do you trust when it comes to electronics recycling?

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My municipality runs a household hazardous waste collection twice a year. I’ve talked to the folks who run it and their hearts at least are in the right place. No guarantee it won’t end up being tossed in a fire in Bangladesh to recover metals, but they try to avoid that outcome.

Your best bet is to reduce consumption. After that comes repurposing the device. Responsible disposal is hard.

We have a local electronics refurbisher/recycler that I trust a great deal. They repair and refurbish electronics that they then sell in their storefront (which is also where I purchase about 80% of the electronics I buy -- closing the loop?), strip the rest for usable parts, and whatever remains they pass off to a commercial recycling service.

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