Where to bring your electronics!
Take a quick look around you, and chances are you’ll find some manner of electronic devices or components. From the alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning to the smartphone that you carry with you during your day, these devices have permeated our lives like very few things have. Just look in any window or on any street corner. Chances are you’ll see something beeping and whirring, flashing or otherwise making their presence known.
Although electronic devices seem to be everywhere in today’s society, the devices and components don’t stay around forever. Over time, things get broken, or the need for upgrades becomes apparent. It really is the nature of things now. So what do you do when your own devices are ready to be replaced? Well, you really have two choices. You could throw them away, or recycle them. While simply tossing them in the trash may seem like the easiest and best solution, it’s not — by a long shot. Here are just a few reasons why recycling your electronics is the best way to go.
- Electronic components can be hazardous. Many components that make up your electronic device contain metals, chemicals and other substances that are actually hazardous to you and the environment. While they’re in use, it’s really not that much of an issue. However, when they are thrown away, the devices get damaged, break down and leak the various chemicals into the environment. Taking your devices to a designated recycling center, however, can help to prevent that from happening.
- In some areas it can be illegal to do so. While most places in Ohio don’t have an electronic waste recycling program, other communities and other states do. Unless you know for sure, why risk it?
- It can affect the water supply. For those places where the electronic waste ends up, the various hazardous chemicals can not only leach into the soil but the groundwater as well, contaminating vital sources of drinking water for the community.
- Space is limited. Believe it or not, the planet Earth is starting to run out of space to put all our leftover junk — electronic junk included. The popular adage of “Reduce, Recycle and Reuse” was started to remind people of this fact and encourage them to think more critically about what they do with the things they use.
- Someone could steal your identity. Like it or not, in this computer age, much of your identity as it relates to the world is stored on your computer, your laptop or your cell phone. Opportunistic people can, and often do, gain your personal information off the electronic devices that you throw away. While recycling won’t prevent that from happening (it’s a good idea to wipe any and all data before disposal), it can make it harder for those people to gain access to the information.
So now that you know a few reasons why recycling your electronics is a good idea, here are a few places where you can do just that:
Goodwill Center
1303 Colgate Drive
Marietta, Ohio 45750
County: Washington
Phone: 740-373-1304
Hours: 10:00am – 6:30pm
Electronics Recycling Marietta Ohio
List of Ohio EPA Approved Electronic Waste Recycler Vendors