Recycle Week: E-waste, Part 2: The solution | Emerald City

This week's eco-topic: Recycle

So you have a DVD player or computer or some other electronic you no longer want. Here's an eco-guide to getting rid of it:

1. If it still works (or even if it doesn't, but you think someone wants it anyway):

Sell it. Ebay and Craigslist are popular ways to sell, but you can also try list it on LACoMAX, the Countywide online materials exchange.

Share it. Don't want to haggle over prices? Then give your electronics a new home via Freecycle or Craigslist's "free" section.

Donate it. Be a do-gooder! Give it to a local school or nonprofit by listing it on LACoMAX. Specify “for schools and nonprofits only." Or donate to National Cristina Foundation, a nonprofit that matches computers and computer-related equipment to charities, schools and public agencies in all 50 states.

2. If it's broken (or it's so old no one wants it):

Take advantage of your manufacturer's take back program. Pro: Many offer credits towards future purchases. Con: Rules can be confusing, and not all programs are free. This is how I recycled my Toshiba laptop back in the day. Check out this handy guide to which companies will take back their electronics and what you can get for your efforts. Dell will even pick up the old goods at your place for free!

Take it to a city e-waste center. Pro: Free. Con: Requires going odd places at mostly inconvenient hours. LA has 6 S.A.F.E. centers that accept e-waste (note that the UCLA location only takes e-waste on Saturdays). Santa Monicans can take their e-waste to the Santa Monica Solid Waste Transfer Station and REcycling Facility at 2411 Delaware Ave. And The Sierra Club's put together a list of centers in LA and Orange County that take e-waste.

Take it to an LA county-sponsored Household Hazardous Waste / E-waste event. Pro: Free. Con: Requires finding out about the event and pre-planning to get there. You can find the clunky, difficult-to-search schedule of events here.

Take it to Staples*. Pro: Many convenient locations, all open convenient hours. Con: It'll cost you $10, and the program doesn't take TVs. Staples' EcoEasy program (PDF) lets you take your computer or other electronics for a $10 charge (small peripherals are free). TVs, floor-model copiers, or similarly large equipment aren't allowed though. The e-waste's disassembled and recycled in the US by Amandi Services.

* Many other for-charge recycling programs exist. For ex, Dell will pick up pretty much any computer or computer equipment from your place for about $36. However, I doubt most people're willing to pay that much to get rid of stuff they no longer want. Staples' deal seems like one of the cheapest and most convenient.

Find a recycler via the Electronic Industries Alliance. Pro: Many recyclers to choose from. Con: Requires individual research using a crappy search function. Plus, there's no guarantee that the recyclers listed do their work responsibly; you'd have to call them up individually to find that out. (see below))

Lastly, if your organization decides to sponsor an e-waste collection drive, make sure you pick a reputable company. Simply picking the cheapest company means that you might be picking one of those baddies I wrote about in the last post. To get started, check out the list of recycling companies that've taken the Pledge of True Stewardship, courtesy of the Electronics Take Back Coalition.

Concerned about e-waste? Get involved with the Electronics Take Back Colation -- which currently has a Take Back my TV campaign going to get TV manufacturers to take back and recycle their own TVs -- or Basel Action Network.

And if you plan to buy a replacement for that electronic, check out Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics to see what companies' products are least toxic and easiest to recycle.

Top photo by Lief K-Brooks; bottom photo by David J via Flickr