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Category Archives: Electronics Disposal

Environmental Challenges Due To Improper Waste Disposal

Improper waste disposal wreaks havoc on our planet as well as future generations of human beings. Though it might seem efficient to dispose of undesired items and substances in dumpsters, garbage cans, drains, landfills or hidden spaces, doing so often compromises the integrity of the environment. The failure to dispose of waste in the proper manner will inevitably hurt our pocketbooks as well. Taxes will rise across posterity as taxpayers are forced to rectify sites that have been compromised by the failure to properly maintain the land and water around us.

An estimated 15 percent of all items disposed in a given year are hazardous. Take a close look at Environmental-Challenges-Due-To-Improper-Waste-Disposal-Junk-King-Sonoma-CAour environment and you’ll notice that our rivers, lakes, oceans and numerous other sites have already been poisoned. Thousands of aquatic animals wash up on the shore each year due to the public’s general failure to eliminate waste in an environmentally conscious manner. Plenty of marine and amphibious creatures display signs of mutation for the same reason. This has to stop. Let’s take a look at exactly how improper waste disposal threatens our surroundings.

The Contamination of Surface Water

When waste reaches water bodies, it alters the water’s chemical composition. Such harm is typically referred to as water pollution. This contamination negatively impacts all of the ecosystems within the water. Even animals that rely on the water for drinking water will suffer health consequences from consuming polluted water. Furthermore, consider the predicament that contaminated water poses for humanity. Water is the “new oil” because of its scarcity. The bottom line is that human life can’t survive on planet Earth unless there is an abundance of clean water.

Leachate

Water that moves through contaminated spaces creates a liquid referred to as Leachate. It creates a toxic mix of nasty chemicals that often results in harmful substances reaching the groundwater, surface water and/or soil.

The Contamination of Soil

Improper waste disposal often leads to a leaking of hazardous chemicals into the soil. Such contamination stunts plant growth and even kills some plants as they pull up poisoned soil directly through their roots. This has a domino affect when human beings and animals consume the compromised plants. In a nutshell, the haphazard disposal of waste has the potential to threaten our food supply.

Air Pollution

Poor waste management practices create pollution in the land as well as the surrounding air. Those who breathe in polluted air suffer negative health effects as the contaminants sucked into the lungs quickly spread to other body sites.

Mind Your Disposal of Household Products

Household cleaners, lawn care products, medicines, paint, automobile fluids and beauty products all have the potential to harm the environment. The manner in which you disposes of these items is critically important. Do not throw them in the trash as their presence threatens the well-being of those who remove your junk and garbage. It is critically important that we all make an effort to prevent hazardous waste from reaching landfills. As noted above, hazardous waste that is improperly disposed has the potential to reach the groundwater that we all rely upon for drinking and bathing.

Do not make the mistake of flushing hazardous liquids down the toilet, drain or sink. Such hazardous fluids will move through your local sewage system and end up in treatment plants that are incapable of handling such waste. You might be tempted to dump such fluids into storm drains or in remote areas. This is also a grave mistake as the harmful liquids will inevitably reach local waterways and eventually travel to lakes, beaches and even the Pacific Ocean.

Contact the professionals at Junk King.  We are able to help you dispose of your waste in an environmentally friendly way.

E-waste – Electronics Recycling The Solution

E-waste disposal is becoming more and more important and the environment’ state really is dependent upon how we treat this matter. What do you do with that old computer, monitor, or tablet once that device has reached its expiration date – i.e., when the next iPhone comes out? Well, as we’re all well aware, electronics get updated and upgraded all the time, and sometimes our favorite devices stop working, get viruses or plain get dropped on the ground (it happens).

E-waste and Electronics Recycling E-waste-Electronics-Recycling-The-Solution-Junk-King-Sanoma-CA

If any of these things occur to your electronics, then they’ve effectively gone from a usable gizmo to electronic waste. Also called e-waste, electronic waste is a catch-all term for all of the electronics devices that get sent to landfills, repurposed, donated or recycled back into circulation each and every year. Whole genres of devices actually get sent out to pasture as new technologies come along – think about PDAs, fax machines, VCRs, and pagers.

It’s important that a greater share of this collective e-waste gets recycled and put back into circulation – in one form or another. Recycling e-waste is actually critical right now for two reasons – the sheer volume of electronic waste that’s out there right now that doesn’t get recycled and, secondly, the fact that electronic waste contains heavy metals that can threaten the water and air that we all enjoy.

  • How Much E-waste are We Talking?

Can you guess how much we in the United States collectively generate in terms of e-waste? Hands on buzzers: More than three million tons of e-waste is generated annually and, unfortunately, less than a half-million tons of that e-waste was properly recycled. Nearly two billion dollars is spent by Americans on consumer electronics every year with high tech turnover as the main culprit behind (literally) tons of e-waste.

  • Where Recycling Comes In

Because of all these dangers California went ahead and ratified into law the Electronic Waste Recycling Act back in 2003. This law basically disincentivizes the sale of dangerous products like outmoded cathode-ray tube monitors that contain heavy metals. The Electronic Waste Recycling Act also makes it easier for California businesses and homeowners to recycle things like bulky fax machines and obsolete desktop computers and make way for newer, safer technologies.

How to Recycle Your E-waste 

Even though the average American household has two dozen electronics gadgets within its four walls, that’s not a reason to despair. If you have an old Smartphone collecting dust, then there’s a good chance you can hook up with your manufacturer’s recycling program to get those parts back in circulation.

The biggest tech giants going in America – folks like Apple, Samsung, LG and Canon – all have their own e-waste recycling programs to ensure that you and the company can live up to the Environmental Protection Agency’s motto of reduce, reuse and recycle.

The cool thing is that it doesn’t cost you anything to do the right thing by the environment and – an added benefit – get those obsolete electronics off of your hands. Most Best Buy stores actually have recycling programs, and their tagline is that they’ll take just about any electronics device irrespective of where you bought the device or how old it happens to be. As the most sprawling e-waste recycling hub in the United States, Best Buy has recycled over one billion pounds of use computers, TVs, Smartphones, cameras, and audio appliances.

Electronics manufacturers have even teamed up with the EPA by heeding the Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge to ultimately get more electronics to a certified electronics recycler. The end goal is reaching 100% participation and leaving this world just a little better than we left it. To have your e-waste safely disposed, team up with Junk King.

Electronics Disposal – How to Get Rid of Your Used Devices in California

When it comes to electronics disposal, there is plenty of confusion. The average person seems to have no idea as to how he should properly dispose of his old or malfunctioning electronics. This lack of knowledge is causing irreparable harm to our environment. You can do our planet an enormous favor by printing out this article and passing it on to your friends and family.

Electronics Should NOT be Disposed of With the Normal Garbage Your old TV, computer monitor, video game console, printer or other electronic device should never be haphazardly tossed into your regular trash bins. Attempting to dispose of electronics in this manner is actually illegal in the state of California. If someone spots you attempting to trash any type of electronic device in this manner, they might report you to the authorities.

Can someone else obtain utility out of the Electronic Device? Before attempting to figure out how How-to-Dispose-of-Used-Electronics-in-California-Junk-King-Sonoma-CAto legally dispose of an electronic device you should consider whether another person might benefit from using it. If there is any chance that an impoverished person, student or organization can obtain any utility whatsoever out of the electronic device, donate it or sell it. Finding a new owner for the device will improve another person’s life while simultaneously reducing the burden placed on electronic recycling/re-use hubs. Even if the device is malfunctioning, there still might be a way to remedy the problem.

Recycling Centers Will Take Your Electronic Devices Nowadays, Californians do not dump electronic devices in landfills. Rather, we take them to organizations that recycle/recover undesired electronic devices. We at Junk King work with organizations that are actually qualified to recycle electronics. If the organization is not a participant in the Covered Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Program that was established by the state’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, they might not have the means to properly dispose/recycle the device.

When in doubt, reach out to the junk hauling experts here at Junk King. We take each and every undesired item to our recycling hubs for a thorough utility and recycling assessment. Our junk hauling experts will drive our big red truck on out to your home or office and pick up just about any piece of junk you want to get rid of. Big Box Electronic Stores can Help There are a number of “big box” electronics outlets like Best Buy that will take in old computer accessories such as printers and monitors. These monolithic corporations have ample personnel and technological resources available to recycle aged or broken electronic devices in the proper manner. Even public libraries have stepped up to the plate by accepting empty ink toner cartridges from printers. When in doubt, refer to your local community services offices for more information regarding where you can drop off undesired electronics.

A caveat about used electronics disposal, be sure to erase all personal information stored on electronic devices before dropping them off at a recycling hub or other destination. Modern day electronics are “smart”, meaning they will store your private data unless you take the initiative to remove such sensitive information from the machine.

Disk Erasure Before Computer Disposal

There is a right and a wrong way to handling computer disposal.  Right now there are millions of computers collecting cobwebs all across America. You might have a few relics from the 1990s at your home office or crowding out your office storage spaces right now even.

Computer Disposal: Things You Should Know 

It seems pretty easy: Just chuck that old computer into the garbage bin and watch it get whisked away with the rest of your weekly pickup.

Hang on, though, don’t old computers contain a lot of heavy metals and personal information that – if it fell into the wrong hands – could jeopardize your future? The answer: Absolutely.

  • Computers as E-waste

Computers are actually a form of electronic waste along with things like batteries and cell phones. With the high rate of tech turnover these days there’s more and more e-waste making its way to landfills and recycling centers.

We really have to be careful in how we dispose this stuff because a lot of our appliances contain harmful heavy metals like mercury, cadmium and maybe even lead. When household appliances and electronics become e-waste we should really be responsibly recycling these things rather than heaping them up on the curb for weekly pickup.

The problem, as we’re coming to realize, is that computers that don’t make it back into circulation and instead wind up at landfills actually pose an environmental hazard.

Some of the heavy metals that are housed in computers can eventually make their way into the Disk-Erasure-Before-Computer-Disposal-junk-Kng-Sonoma-CAsoil and local water supply, which obviously isn’t good for anybody.

  • Old Computers and Personal Information

What we’ve been talking about is more of a macro view of the problem of treating e-waste and your old laptops, desktops, tablets and cell phones as regular trash.

Your trusty – now obsolete – computer, though, likely still contains account numbers, passwords, your social security number, and maybe even compromising tax information. You don’t want that out there.

There’s no need to freak out….since you can follow a step-by-step process to backup your data, permanently remove all personal files from your soon-to-be-recycled computer, and physically remove or securely erase the hard drive.

There are a lot of ways to go about that last one – i.e., clearing the hard drive – and a lot will depend on whether you want to repurpose your old computer, simply recycle it or pass it on to a hard-up school district.

Ways of Clearing the Hard Drive 

It’s really important to back up your data on an external hard drive, flash drive or with something like Google Cloud storage before you wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Clearing your hard drive really, really limits the chances that you’ll be the victim of identity theft and, if you’re dealing with a company-provided computer, also helps protect the company and yourself against nasty things like legal penalties and possible intellectual property violations. Who wants to deal with that nonsense?

  • Wiping the Slate Clean

Backup and restore features are actually worked right into Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and if you’re a Mac user you can always use the USB connections on the device to backup personal information on external hard drives and flash drives.

After you’ve backed everything up, you can make use of a program like Darik’s Boot and Nuke to wipe your hard drive and transition it along that proverbial assembly line and closer to being responsibly recycled.

If you intend to give your computer away for reuse by, say, a cash-strapped school district, then make sure that you either install a free operating system on it or restore your old computer to factory settings.

Junk King handles e-waste disposal – /contact/

E-Waste Recycling

The field of e-waste recycling is starting to gain more attention, especially from municipalities and consumers. With more electronic devices entering the market every day, and a seemingly endless need to acquire the newest and best model, it’s important for us to safely dispose of what’s old or broken. Read on for an exploration of e-waste recycling and how it works.

What Is E-Waste?

E-waste, sometimes called electronic waste, is another word for discarded electronic items. These items include computers, tablets, cell phones, MP3 players and a plethora of other high-tech devices. They may be broken, or they may still function.

Why Is E-Waste Recycling So Important?

Electronic devices are filled with toxic materials. These include lead, mercury, cadmium and other E-Waste-recycling-Junk-Kng-Sonoma-CAheavy metals. If e-waste is thrown in the trash, it typically ends up in the landfill, where these chemicals can leech into water and soil and poison them. Protecting the environment from these chemicals is one of the key goals of e-waste recycling.

Likewise, e-waste recycling retrieves these metals and other chemicals for future use. Unfortunately, suppliers often mine these substances via environmentally destructive and socially exploitative methods. By re-purposing these substances, you can do your part to discourage destructive, dangerous mining techniques.

How Does E-Waste Recycling Work?

Just throwing your e-waste into the trash means it’ll end up in a landfill, rather than being put through an e-waste recycling process. To recycle your electronic waste, you’ll need to make sure it goes specifically into an e-waste recycling program. Thankfully, many municipalities are recognizing and filling the need for this specialized kind of recycling.

What exactly happens to your device at that point depends on the state it’s in. If your device is still essentially functional — say, if it simply has a cracked screen, or if it just needs an upgrade — an e-waste recycling specialist may just replace those parts and put the device back on the market. If your device is more substantially damaged or is significantly out of date, it may be broken down for parts, or it may be melted down so that the heavy metals inside can be removed and reused.

If you’ve got computers, phones and other electronic devices that meet the definition of e-waste, Junk King can help. We’re pros at hauling away your junk, and making sure it gets where it needs to go. Contact us  today and see why so many homeowners and businesses trust us to help you get your junk situation under control.

Computer Recycling and Management of Sustainable Waste Energy

Computer-Recycling-and-Management-of-Sustainable-Waste-Energy-Sanoma-CANo matter how much high-tech awesomeness your computer is packed with right now, it will eventually stop working — or just become too outdated to be worth powering on. When this happens, you need to figure out what to do with it. Just so you know, throwing it into the garbage isn’t the answer. You need to recycle your computer. Putting together the parts that make up a computer takes a lot of energy. Technology makers use much less energy when they don’t have to dig up fresh raw materials and create new parts. This means that recycling your computer will be a big boon for the management of sustainable waste energy.

But a computer isn’t exactly a plastic bottle or a tin can, so you’re probably wondering just how you can get rid of it in an eco-friendly, safe manner. Let’s take a look at how you should approach computer recycling:

Clean your computer out

Assuming that the power button still works, you’re going to want to do a factory data reset on your device before you even start the computer recycling process. This is because data thieves are lurking around every corner; you need to protect yourself from them by giving them as little as possible to work with.

Also, you shouldn’t assume that all of your data will be safe just because your soon-to-be-recycled computer no longer works. Professional data thieves have the ability to pick apart a broken computer and steal your data anyway. If your old computer is damaged beyond use, then you will need to have the memory removed and physically destroyed. This is a dangerous thing to do, so it should always be done by a professional.

Determine what computer recycling really means to you

As we mentioned earlier, a computer and a plastic bottle aren’t exactly the same thing. These differences extend beyond their basic use and include the recycling process itself. Computer recycling, for example, can mean one of two things:

The most traditional perception of computer recycling — or recycling in any form, for that matter — is to have your old recyclable junk shipped off to a recycling plant, where its parts and raw materials can be re-used. If your old computer is beyond repair, then this is your best — and only — approach to computer recycling.

The other form of computer recycling doesn’t involve a parts processing plant at all. Instead, your old computer would be refurbished and either donated or sold for a super deep discount. This approach to computer recycling usually takes less energy.

Call in the reinforcements when you have a lot of junk computers

When you’re recycling multiple computers, you need to take a different approach. If you’ve got a legion of bulky computerized machines that you need to get rid of, you shouldn’t take on computer recycling alone. Instead, you should seek out a pro junk removal service that specializes in recycling old technology. Not only will they have the tools you need to haul all of your junk computers away all at once, but they will have the resources and know how to take the computers to the right place.

These organizations will also help you identify which computers are salvageable for refurbishing, and which need to be tossed into the processing plant pile.

Are you approaching computer recycling the right way?

You need to recycle your old computer. Because a computer is a complex machine, you will have to take a few extra steps to recycle it correctly. To learn more about recycling your old computers, televisions or anything else, contact a professional junk remover.

3 Rules To Follow To Avoid Making Computer Recycling Mistakes

3-Rules-To-Follow-To-Avoid-Making-Computer-Recycling-Mistakes-Junk-King-Sonoma-CAThe holidays are a popular time for receiving new electronics, especially computers. Once you transfer the data from your old machine to the new, you’ll probably decide on computer recycling for yesterday’s model. Computer recycling used to be fairly easy: remove and smash the hard drive and then dispose of the shell. Today it isn’t quite so simple.

The electronics we use are built with a host of environmentally harmful chemicals such as cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic and phosphors. When deposited in landfills, these chemicals over time seep into the ground water supply. Proper disposal of electronics, then, is paramount. The good news is that we’re seeing a huge amount of growth in the electronics recycling industry, but the rise of these new companies has also increased the chances of getting computer recycling all wrong. Here are three simple rules you can follow in order to avoid making the most common computer recycling mistakes:

Rule #1 – Use a Certified Recycler

In Sonoma County it is illegal to dispose of electronics with your regular trash. As a result, a lot of companies have sprung up who claim they will properly recycle your computer. The truth, though, is that the number of companies who can actually do so is quite small, so take the time to know who your recycler is.

Finding a reputable computer recycling service isn’t difficult if you know what to look for. Has the company been in business for a healthy length of time? Most importantly, is it certified by either e-Stewards or R2 Solutions – or both? If the answer to both questions is yes, then the odds are good that your data privacy, along with the environment, will be properly protected. Ask your e-waste disposal company about their plant safety record, security, and employee training. Also ask about how it handles and disposes of hazardous materials. The best company to work with is not the one that promises to work with a certified recycler down the road, it is the one that is a certified recycler itself.

Rule #2 – If It Sounds Too Good to be True . . .

. . . it probably is. Have you heard the expression “You can’t afford cheap?” It applies to a lot of what we buy, and it holds especially true for computer recycling. Don’t be duped by so-called free computer recycling services that are popping up all over Sonoma County these days. The bottom line is that responsible computer recycling is not free or cheap. If you choose to use a “free” service, you run two distinct risks:

  • Cutting corners by using a non-certified recycler creates a risk that your electronic equipment will end up in the wrong hands, creating a possible sensitive data breach, as well as environmental degradation.
  • A “free” service makes it likely you will not get the full value you deserve for your equipment. If you’ve decided to get to know your recycler, as spelled out in Rule #1, you’ll rest easy knowing your company is adequately compensated.

Rule #3 – Make a Plan and Stick to It

In February 2013, the National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a Cybersecurity Framework to help create a best practices plan for the disposition of electronic equipment.  As you develop a data security plan, be sure to include protocols for computer recycling and include language that mandates the use of certified recyclers for all IT asset and electronic disposal.

When you’re ready to dispose of your old electronics, follow these three rules and then talk to us about how to best safely and efficiently recycle your outdated equipment.

 

Appliance Recycling: What you Need to Know

When it's time to replace your old household appliances with something a little newer, you need to figure out how you're going to go about getting rid of the old one. For this, you should definitely consider your appliance recycling options. As a matter of fact, appliance recycling should be the only option that you even think about when dumping your worn down old appliances. Here's why:

I like my old appliances, so why should I get rid of them in the first place?

You need to learn when it's time to recycle your appliances

Have you been clinging onto that old washing machine for dear life? If your old appliances are worn down beyond repair, then you should get rid of them. Period. if you're not sure, consult an expert's opinion.

Why you should recycle your old appliances

Most appliances can be recycled

Even appliances that aren't technically on the government's "must recycle" list can and should be recycled. Many non-recycling dumping sites won't even take appliances at all, so you're best bet is to have all of your old, useless appliance recycled.

Appliance recycling helps the environment and the economy

Old plastic, metal and chemicals that just sit around aren't exactly green, and producing new materials for a single appliance is expensive. As with anything else in this global economy that we live in, these material expenses will affect costs for many things. Appliance recycling allows you to avoid all of this, because your old stuff won't end up in a landfill, and their materials can be used instead of making new ones.

The disposal of many appliances is regulated by the government

This is the most important reason that you want to go with appliance recycling — instead of arbitrary dumping — when you're done with your old stuff. Many household appliances contain hazardous chemicals and dangerous parts; to make sure that they don't damage the environment or hurt anyone, the government has very specific regulations for how you can get rid of an appliance. Refrigerators, for example, contain "ozone depleting" chemicals that can damage the ozone layer.

To prevent these chemicals from getting the chance to do any damage, the federal government requires that you only dispose of a refrigerator at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved site. California takes these requirements even further, as the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control says that you can't throw away any major appliances unless you're a certified appliance recycler. This means that recycling appliances is a must if you want to stay out of trouble with the law.

How to go about recycling your old household appliances

Now that you know why you've got to make appliance recycling a priority measure when getting rid of your appliances, it's time to look at how you can go about it.

You need to be careful when you're recycling appliances

Household appliances are big and dangerous. If you're not careful with them, then someone is likely to get hurt during the removal process.

Always hire a pro for your appliance recycling needs

Even if you have a team of people big and strong enough to lug a hefty fridge out of your house, you still need to have a truck — and a means — to load it and a place to take it to. When you rely on a professional appliance recycling service, all of this gets handled for you.

Treat your old appliances how you should

You must recycle your old appliances — the right way. When it's time to start the appliance recycling process, contact us at Junk King, and we'll gladly help.

How to Remove the Hard Drive for Computer Disposal

There’s definitely no shortage of opinions when it comes to ways to remove the personal information on your hard drive for computer disposal.

Some experts recommend giving the hard drive to a certified refurbisher while others say that the only way to get rid of your personal information is to take matters into your own hands.

There are security experts who advise consumers literally take a hammer to their hard drive’s magnet platter to obliterate any trace of old emails, usernames, passwords and sensitive financial information.

Hard Drives and Computer Disposal 

A computer’s hard drive is the nerve center when it comes to storing information. This extends to all of the pictures and music that you’ve downloaded (legally…) over the years as well as all of your personal PC preferences and programs.

Even your operating system is localized on your computer’s hard drive. You are probably starting to get a pretty clear picture, if you don’t already have one, of how identity thieves would like nothing more than seizing your hard drive for personal gain.

Whether you’ve decided to destroy your hard drive prior to computer disposal – or prior to going the recycling or donation route – heeding one or more of the rules listed below will potentially save you a ton of hassle later and peace of mind moving forward.

A Professional Hack Job 

In a good way…there are companies out there whose job it is to shred your hard drive and ensure that your personal information doesn’t see the light of day.

You can either mail your hard drive to a company that shreds hard drives, which brings up its own security vulnerabilities, or deliver your hard drive in person to a local shredder.

A shredding service can work to your advantage if you’re a homeowner with a closet full of old computer hard drives, or a business owner trusted with overseeing the personal and financial information of your employees.

Wiping the Slate Clean 

One of the most popular ways by which you can clear your hard drive is with a program that overwrites the existing data with random, jumbled characters.

Free utilities like Active@KillDisk can wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and offer features like true parallel erasing as well as Linux-compatibility for Mac users.

Some people think this option still doesn’t do enough to protect their, or their employees’, personal information, so they enlist the help of a professional refurbisher to get the job done.

Certified Hard Drive Refurbisher 

This would be a good option to take if your computer is relatively recent (i.e., less than five years old) and you’d like to donate your computer to, for instance, low-income families through a non-profit.

Having your hard drive refurbished and eventually reused is an environmentally responsible option as well since it keeps fewer potentially toxic parts in circulation.

Too often the fruits of recycling programs wind up in third-world countries, supporting their development while (unfortunately) causing fresh environmental problems. Going the refurbishing and donation route obviates that problem and keeps old parts in the rotation.

A certified refurbisher is also an excellent option if you’re a business owner who has hard drives with employees’ sensitive financial information on it. Why? Because a certified refurbisher uses foolproof data destruction techniques for guaranteed success.

The Caveman Option

There are some really smart people (and, frankly, some luddites) out there who insist that the only way to keep yourself safe is with a screwdriver, hammer and protective eyewear for the deed itself. While destroying your hard drive’s magnetic platter is definitely foolproof, it’s best done outdoors.

 

What to Do With Old Computers

Lots of people ask what to do with old computers because they’re hard to get rid of. Other than the fact that nobody seems to want an old computer, figuring out what to do with old computers is more complicated because of all the harmful chemicals a computer has in it. When you want to get rid of an old PC or laptop, you’ve got to be careful who you trust.

Computers Get Old Quickly

One of the major reasons why what to do with old computers is such a big deal is because computers get old at a ridiculously fast pace. No matter how much you paid for your computer, it seems like by the time you get it to your car it’s an 8-track tape player with the greatest hits of 1975 stuck inside. If you’ve never heard of Moore’s Law, it basically says that computer speed and storage capacity will double every 5 years or less. This has been the case for about 80 years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing. Most people don’t even use half their hard drive before enough other things on their computer fail that keeping it around isn’t worth the hardship. Thus, what to do with old computers isn’t something to think about years from now, like you can with a house or a car. Your computer may fail only a year or two after you buy it new.

What to Do With Old Computers

Fix or Replace? Replace!

If computers were like most things, you could keep them for years and just work on them yourself or have “a guy” who fixes them every so often. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. By the time you even find a repair shop, you’ve already lost precious time you could spend being productive — or watching cat videos, it’s all you. What to do with old computers isn’t an academic question after about a year — when you can pay someone a bunch of money to keep your computer running for awhile or just toss it and get a new one, asking what to do with old computers becomes a “no duh” kind of answer. You get rid of them, but there are issues with just putting them out at the curb.

Hurting the Environment Isn’t Cool

Some folks think you can just drop your computer in the trash can and call it a day. But just like everything technology-related, what to do with old computers has a more complicated answer than that. When you think about what to do with old computers, you have to remember that your parents were right — what’s inside really does count. Only, instead of being full of love, computers have things like lead, mercury and other nasty things that’ll hurt the environment. Unless you want hourly visits from a crying little bunny over ruining his habitat, you have to decide what to do with old computers using a little more sense than, “Just toss it.” Namely, you need to enlist the help of someone who disposes of computers in an environmentally friendly manner.

Not Being Green Can Even Be Illegal

Believe it or not, polluting is actually illegal most places. If you get caught, which eventually happens when you have to decide what to do with old computers on a regular basis, you could face some stiff fines. Beyond that, you may be forced to stop doing business if the government isn’t interested in your trashy ways. So when you consider what to do with old computers, contract with a service that will follow the laws and make the environment a little bit cleaner.

Junk King Sonoma
1364 N. McDowell Blvd Ste 8
Petaluma, CA 94954
Hours: M-Sa: 8A-4P

Providing junk removal services to the Sonoma area, including:

Annapolis
Cloverdale
Cotati
Fulton
Geyserville
Glen Ellen
Graton
Healdsburg
Kenwood
Penngrove
Petaluma
Rohnert Park
Santa Rosa
Sebastopol
Sonoma
Windsor
and these nearby zip codes:
94926, 94927, 94928, 94931, 94951, 94952, 94953, 94954, 94955, 94975, 94999, 95401, 95402, 95403, 95404, 95405, 95406, 95407, 95409, 95412, 95425, 95439, 95441, 95442, 95444, 95448, 95452, 95472, 95473, 95476, 95492