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!