When it comes to getting rid of unwanted electronics, the landfill is only a legal option for a few types of items and they can’t sit in the garage forever. However, recycling at an electronics collection site handles more types of items, is a greener approach, and is not as difficult as you may think.

Discarded electronics, or E-waste, contains materials that pose pollution and health concerns when dumped into the environment.

As found on the ewasteguide.info website, these materials include lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and other heavy metals. Although it makes up only 2 percent of US landfill material, E-waste contributes 70 percent of the toxic material within our landfills.

E-waste also contains many precious and rare materials. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium, while making up only a fraction of a percent of the total weight, adds up. Americans dump $60 million in gold and silver just within cell phones each year according to
dosomething.com.

Wisconsin bans many electronics from entering its landfills and from incineration. Televisions, computers, printers, monitors, computer accessories (including keyboards, mice, hard drives, flash drives, and speakers) and cell phones are just some of the items which cannot be placed in the trash. When unwanted, these items must be taken to a certified electronics recycling (E-cycling) site.

Not only does E-cycling prevent hazardous materials from entering landfills, it is also a green approach because of energy saved. Broken doesn’t always mean useless. Even when an electronic device as a whole does not function, there may be sub-components in working order.  Precious and rare materials can also be recovered, saving the energy it takes to obtain them again.

Around Madison, there are several sites that will collect electronics with and without charge for E-cycling. Items not officially banned from the landfill will also be accepted by some sites. Each site will vary in which types of item they will accept, so phone ahead and verify that your items are accepted.

Before taking an item to be recycled, wipe it clean of any personal or sensitive data. Generally speaking, deleting files will not fully destroy the data, so special software designed to wipe out data may be needed. Some E-cycling sites may provide a method to fully erase data on site, but verify this as well.

For a full list of E-cycling sites in Dane County visit dnr.wi.gov/topic/ecycle.

MADISON E-CYCLING SITES

Graph by Christopher Pinkert