Hello YouRenew.com blog readers!

We’re looking to get into a good schedule with blog posts for the next few weeks. On top of working to build you the fastest and easiest place to sell electronics and recycle electronics, we’re going to talk to you about our mission, how things are going, and what’s happening in the world in our space.

We’re putting out a weekly blog schedule. Here’s what you should expect for the next few weeks:

Monday: Rich – update on how things are going at headquarters and thoughts on improving for the future. (Read: comment with advice!)

Tuesday: Bob – A look at the coolest and newest gadgets on the market, plus an update on some of the gadgets coming in our door.

Wednesday: Rich – How to be greener! How YouRenew.com and you can make steps to be friendly to our environment. Also updates on eliminating e-waste.

Thursday: Trevor – the smartest guy I’ve ever met will talk to you about how to technologize/code the green revolution.

Friday: WildCard! – It’s a surprise!

Satuday: Rich – Social media, marketing and outreach ideas. Updates on where in the world we’ve been featured/talked about.

Sunday: Bob – Ideas for improving technology, gadgets, and recycling. Or, whatever he feels like talking about on Sunday.

That’s the schedule. We’re going to get into a good routine after the craziness of launch. If you have any ideas on how we can make selling or recycling electronics easier for you, feel free to contact me directly at rich@yourenew.com. Follow along with the blog posts, comment and let us know what you think!

If you’d like to be on our blogroll, please email me as well!



- Rich

Prior to working on YouRenew.com, I have to admit that I rarely thought about what happens to our trash. Over the course of the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a great deal about used and unwanted goods, recycling, and the terrible problems posed by electronic waste in particular.

E-waste is the fastest growing stream of trash in the United States, and presents terrible environmental and health issues. The average U.S. household has 24 electronic products, and turnover of these items is high. In essence, this means that Americans are throwing away hundreds of millions of electronic devices each year. According to the EPA, less than 10% of cellular phones are recycled each year, and I’d guess that an even smaller percentage of MP3 players, cameras, and gaming systems are properly disposed of.

It’s easy for me to understand why these numbers are so low. Electronic recycling programs are inconsistent, poorly advertised, and often inconvenient, especially compared to the garbage bin. However, when we do chose to throw that cell phone or old laptop in the trash, we’re not only throwing out a device full of dangerous chemicals (i.e. lead, mercury, and cadmium) but also throwing away valuable materials that can be reused. Electronics contain high value commodities such as copper, gold, and silver. Batteries contain lithium. Many of these components can be harvested and reused, reducing the demand for mining new metals – a practice that is often extremely environmentally unfriendly.

Although we don’t currently take every electronic device every made, we’re constantly working to add to our product catalog and to do our part recycling your electronics. We’re careful that the devices that we do recycle are handled domestically in the most environmentally friendly manner possible. Even if we can’t recycle your desktop (yet), think twice before throwing it away. Most communities offer electronic recycling programs, and I’d urge you to do a bit of research before just tossing your electronics in the trash – there are other options!

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks here at YouRenew! We launched just under two weeks ago, but we’re beginning to see a steady stream of devices come through the door. As the guy charged with making sure that operations flow smoothly, I’m excited to see our incoming mail increase each day.

The breadth of devices that we’ve seen is really quite amazing. From Motorola MicroTACS (circa 1990) to Apple iPhone 3Gs, the progression of technology in the last twenty years absolutely astounds us. Our fascination with our progression makes us wonder even more about the future. Especially with the rise of mobile internet access, the line between phone, computer, calculator, MP3 player, and gaming devices is constantly becoming more blurred. The number of people who access news and information daily on their mobile phones doubled from 10.8 million in January, 2008 to 22.4 million in January, 2009. Web enabled smartphones are becoming the standard, rather than the exception. Who knows where we’ll be in another twenty years?

Thanks for checking out YouRenew.com – the fastest and easiest place to get cash for your old electronics!
My name is Rich and I’m one of the co-founders of YouRenew.com. My co-founder, Bob, and I are really excited to help you recycle your electronics from this day forward! We’re two normal guys from Connecticut who had a dream that people should get paid to recycle.
Try it today: sell back your old cell phones, ipods, laptops, digital cameras, external hard drives, calculators, video game consoles/systems, video games and DVDs. Check it out today: www.YouRenew.com.
It only takes about 2 minutes! You don’t need to make an account or give your credit card information. The best part is you ship to us for free!