? what to do-old electronics?

[imoldernu]

You know what I mean!
Computers, TV's, all that stuff that you bought, still works, but for practical purposes, junque.

In the US alone, 128 million households. What happened to the old electronics that you couldn't put in the trash?

 

[Midpack]

Our local small town public/muni recycling facility takes old electronics. That’s where all our old PC’s, monitors, and other electronics have gone.

And for what it’s worth, some “vintage” electronics may still have value. I sold a 30+ year old Pioneer receiver just like the one below for $150 on eBay. I hadn’t used it in years, but it was in like new condition and still working fine. The buyer was thrilled to have it, and I was thrilled to have the money.

 

[Aerides]

Our local small town public/muni recycling facility takes old electronics. That’s where all our old PC’s, monitors, and other electronics have gone.

Same. A lot of charity orgs will take them as well as the parts can have value. I arranged a team builder a few years ago at the ARC and my team spent the day tearing apart old motherboards and other stuff.

 

[Jerry1]

Same here. City/County recycle days for electronics. When I heard that they were going to restrict taking the old CRT tv’s, I made sure to get all of the old ones out of the house. Told DD to make sure she did the same. Since then, I stay on top of it. I agree that it’s hard to get rid of something that still works, but technology marches on and we stop using the older versions. We still have an iPhone 5. The grand kids use it as a small tablet, but I see them using it less and less and using our newer equipment.

 

[Nick12]

You know what I mean!
Computers, TV's, all that stuff that you bought, still works, but for practical purposes, junque.

In the US alone, 128 million households. What happened to the old electronics that you couldn't put in the trash?

I should have saved my Atari video game system and all its games instead of throwing it in the trash. Could have made some $$.

 

[GrayHare]

Throw out a working item? Surely you jest! I keep using lots of it until it fails. Still use a CRT TV, for example. It's part of LBYM.

The rest winds up in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, q.v.

 

[f35phixer]

donate or take to dump throw in their electronics section. Does your area have STEM programs for kids? Give to the STEM to use?

 

[RobbieB]

Local ewaste collection site.

 

[Midpack]

I should have saved my Atari video game system and all its games instead of throwing it in the trash. Could have made some $$.

If it makes you feel any better I sold about 130 vinyl albums, many truly classics, most only played once (I used to tape albums and set them aside), in one big lot at a garage sale. I intended to sell them individually for $1-2 each, but I assumed I’d sell some and be left with a bunch. When one old guy offered me $30 for the whole box it sounded easy and I accepted. Works out to less than $0.25 each.

Wish I had that decision back again...

 

[davebarnes]

1. Put them in the ally with a FREE sign. It is why we have an ally.
2. Put them on NextDoor.com for FREE.
3. Put them in trash. The big City truck picks up the black bin and away it goes.

 

[imoldernu]

About the "turn in" service... yes, we have one twice a year. Allowed one CRT TV, and two pieces of electronics... Next door neighbor brought a TV to the turn in spot... out on Airport Road. Two mile back up of cars... waited 1 hour to get to the right spot, and they closed it when he got to three car lengths away.

The one business that would take turn ins charged $50 for a TV, and $20 for a computer. Even that would have been ok, but they went out of business. Since I'm a hoarder, I figured about $500 to clear out my old junque, but no way. The Salvation Army, Goodwill, and the other two second hand stores in town, will not even take small items, like telephones. No electronics whatsoever.

Few choices... midnight drop into the Illinois River, or bury it in the back yard.

 

[RobbieB]

Bummer dude.

We have a hazardous drop off in the county and a local ewaste site in town. Another outfit comes by once a month (tapes flyer on garage) and mobile drop off sites (like Home Depot parking lot) are announced quarterly.

 

[robnplunder]

Once in a while, a private company would do a neighbor collection. I'd take out the ones I've been piling up in my garage. They accept most electronic stuff including wires, cables and such. I'd have to pay for the big items like CRT TV, appliances, etc..

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, us too. They charge 5 bucks for washers, dryers, ranges and ten for a fridge.

 

[bloom2708]

Thrift stores will no longer take tube TVs. Electronics recycle.

Computers would depend on the age. Most likely it is best to drill through the HD and recycle/donate. If within the last 6 years, then reset and donate to the local thrift store.

Stereo equipment is always valuable for nostalgia. Check eBay for receivers/speakers.

I bought an 80s boombox, a very high end one for 6.99 at the local thrift store. Sold it for $400 on eBay. Those deals are rare, but boom boxes are very "hip" right now. Especially the higher end ones. Most are all snapped up and re-sold, but there are still deals out there.

Know what you have, check eBay. List locally if you have some items of value.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

In BC, there's a recycling fee added when purchasing electronics that is directed to companies that end up recycling these electronics after you drop them off at the recycling depot. While I hate more taxes and fees, it does make it convenient to pile things up and then take a weekend afternoon to drop off your recyclables at the depot.
Anything that's reasonably in condition might go on craigslist for free.

 

[zinger1457]

Had a couple old VCR's (still working) that I couldn't give away for free on Craigslist, Goodwill was happy to take them.

 

[imoldernu]

Throw out a working item? Surely you jest! I keep using lots of it until it fails. Still use a CRT TV, for example. It's part of LBYM.

The rest winds up in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, q.v.

I thought that was a joke, until I googled it... OMG... 350k hits... Where have I been?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agbogbloshie

 

[Jerry1]

About the "turn in" service... yes, we have one twice a year. Allowed one CRT TV, and two pieces of electronics... Next door neighbor brought a TV to the turn in spot... out on Airport Road. Two mile back up of cars... waited 1 hour to get to the right spot, and they closed it when he got to three car lengths away.

The one business that would take turn ins charged $50 for a TV, and $20 for a computer. Even that would have been ok, but they went out of business. Since I'm a hoarder, I figured about $500 to clear out my old junque, but no way. The Salvation Army, Goodwill, and the other two second hand stores in town, will not even take small items, like telephones. No electronics whatsoever.

Few choices... midnight drop into the Illinois River, or bury it in the back yard.

LaSalle County Environmental Services and Land Use - lasalle_county

Looks like the last one was in 2017. Might want to call them and ask if they have any plans to do an electronics recycling event this year.

 

[ncbill]

Take it to the city's e-waste recycling.

Supposedly they only contract with U.S.-based recyclers.

Last time I was there pallet after pallet of shrink-wrapped CRT/projection TVs were waiting in the large yard next to the building to be hauled away.

 

[braumeister]

Sometimes putting a "FREE" sign on a piece of junk and leaving it by the curb works, but sometimes it doesn't. I once had a neighbor who solved the problem neatly by putting a price on it to indicate that it probably really was worth something.

My favorite was an old worn out washing machine that had obviously done its last load. He put a big cardboard "$50" on it and put it by the curb. Next morning it was gone.

 

[Popeye]

Our local small town public/muni recycling facility takes old electronics. That’s where all our old PC’s, monitors, and other electronics have gone.

And for what it’s worth, some “vintage” electronics may still have value. I sold a 30+ year old Pioneer receiver just like the one below for $150 on eBay. I hadn’t used it in years, but it was in like new condition and still working fine. The buyer was thrilled to have it, and I was thrilled to have the money.

+1 on the electronics. I tossed a couple of items to recycle before I realized it. When I was trying to decide how to dispose of a couple of large speakers, my brother checked eBay and saw a few for $400/pair. I’m going to list them and see what happens. Ive also saved a Pioneer receiver and a cd changer. I should check them too. All of it is from the early 90’s.

 

[ExitLeft]

For things that are mostly made of metal, look for a metal recycler. They will buy by the pound. Prices vary based on the type of metal. Copper wires, power supplies, copper plumbing pipes, etc can make some decent money. I once rented a uhaul trailer and took 2 dead lawn tractors, an old water heater I'd recently replaced, an old basketball hoop and a bunch of other stuff and made a couple hundred dollars for the effort, minus the $20 trailer rental.
Regarding electronics, if it's going in the trash, they often have heavy copper power supplies inside. Might be worth some effort to see if a recycler will take the whole unit or try taking it apart and removing the power supply. Just be careful, since power supplies can be dangerous, even if not plugged in.

 

[RockyMtn]

I used to drop them off at local "Best Buy" store. I believe they have discontinued or limited that program. Now I wait for local community "electronics dump day" and take them there.

 

[Walt34]

Locally the Goodwill store here will take old electronic stuff for recycling and the County has an electronics recycling spot to take stuff to. We go to Goodwill simply because it's close and the county's spot is at the other end of the county.