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How to spring clean and help the environment

Posted by | September 06, 2017 | E-Waste, Recycling, TechCollect | No Comments

Picture1Spring is now upon us (though some parts of the country cannot quite feel it yet)! This year TechCollect encourages Australians to broaden their spring cleaning efforts and include any old electronics lying around, or hidden away in cupboards in the home or office.

Why you should recycle old electronics

It’s easy to overlook electronic waste (e-waste) during your annual spring clean. It’s also just as easy to hold on to your old electronics; a common mindset being “I might need to use it again one day”. What a lot of people don’t know is that old, unused electronics contain valuable resources that can be recycled and turned into new products. As our consumption of electronic products increases, we need to apply our “reduce, re-use, recycle” mantra to our devices as well, and e-waste needs to become a permanent item on our annual spring cleaning list.

It is important that we recycle our unwanted electronics, because if we throw them out, these resources are lost forever. There’s also the possibility that they may contain materials which are hazardous to the environment when disposed of inappropriately. This includes leaving them out on your nature strip as hard rubbish; a common misconception is that you are doing the right thing, but your electronics may simply end up in landfill.

How to recycle old electronics – it’s simple and free

This is where TechCollect can help. We provide a free, industry-funded e-waste recycling service to the public, with over 100 drop-off locations around Australia. Spring is the perfect time to declutter and drop off your unused electronics at a TechCollect site. We will ensure your e-waste is responsibly recycled, and we recover over 90% of the commodities as raw materials to be used in new products.

Declutter your home, and give your old electronics a new lease on life with our spring cleaning checklist:

  1. Take a look around your house/office for old, unused electronics.
  2. Wipe any data – find out how to do this here.
  3. Find out what we take here.
  4. Find your nearest TechCollect site here.
  5. Drop off your unwanted e-waste for free.
  6. Feel good that you did something positive for the planet.
  7. Enjoy your new, de-cluttered life.

If you have other items around the home that you’d like to recycle, but don’t know how to, take a look at recyclingnearyou.com.au – Planet Ark’s comprehensive repository of different recycling services available across Australia.

Spring cleaning