Did you know that every time you pick up your phone to make or receive a call or text, you are using a device that is made up of over 70 different elements? When we look at our phones, we probably only think about the glass screen and plastic casing that we can visibly see. However, the average smartphone has at least 70 different chemical elements that make up its interior. Gold, copper, silver, aluminum, lithium cobalt, carbon, and iron are just a few of the different metals that are lurking inside the hundreds of millions of phones in circulation around the country. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those chemical elements in electronics end up in landfills, despite the vast majority of the electronic components being 100 percent recyclable. 

Below, we explain why recycling your used electronics is an important aspect of developing an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. We then offer a few solutions for residents and business owners in South San Francisco to get rid of their used phones in a safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly manner. 

The Problem with the Short Lifespans of Electronics

Before the day and age of smart phones, most families, households, and businesses probably thought of a phone as a one-time purchase that would last a lifetime. Though electronics companies did try to innovate old landline phones by incorporating new features such as the wireless receiver, phones really did not change that much from year to year, and most families held onto their landline phone for well over a decade. Once cell phones exploded onto the scene, however, purchasing a new phone became an almost yearly occurrence. 

Not only was it much easier to lose or damage a phone that you carried with you in your pocket, but tech companies quickly began rolling out innovations that fundamentally changed our relationship with the phone. Today, people in the United States and Europe tend to purchase a new phone every 24.7 months. Significant numbers of cell phone uses will also update their new phones on a yearly basis in order to “keep up” with the latest technological innovations that hit the market. However, this rapid replacement rate for smartphones and other modern electronics is problematic for several different reasons: 

• – Purchasing a new phone or TV every year leads to increased consumer expense for limited product innovation: According to a recent article in Forbes Magazine, “releasing new models annually means that manufacturers don’t usually have time to make more than incremental improvements from year to year. A new phone every year just won’t add much value to the regular user.” 
• – Rapid replacement of modern electronics is causing a serious electronic waste (e-waste) problem around the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that “E-waste is the fastest growing domestic waste stream. It includes devices such as computers, televisions, and cell phones. E-waste contains toxic materials that pose hazards to human health and the environment if not properly disposed or recycled.” 
• – An estimated 130 million cell phones are thrown into landfills each and every year. If those phones were recycled, they could save enough energy to power over 24,000 homes a year.
• – It is estimated that up to three-quarter of all smartphone users do not throw away their old phones, but rather leave them sitting around the house. Less than 20 percent of unwanted cell phones are recycled each year. Though this is a way to keep cell phones out of our landfills, the recyclable materials in cell phones are extremely valuable. According to one analysis, “for every one million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 pound of copper, 772 pound of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.” 

In a nutshell, then, most people replace their electronics far too frequently, essentially paying more for a device that is not that different from the one they are replacing. These old devices are either sent to the dump where they could potentially leach dangerous toxic metals into the surrounding environment or are left forgotten. Recycling your old electronics can help to cut back on the e-waste problem, and may even get you a discount for a future purchase. 

Top Three Ways to Recycle Your Used Electronics in the South San Francisco Area

When that old television does eventually breakdown, how exactly can people in the South San Francisco area responsibly recycle their used e-waste? 

1. Find Local Recyclers

   Unfortunately, up to 80 percent of the “recycled” e-waste around the United States is actually shipped to unregulated electronic waste dumps in developing countries. This can cause serious health and environmental problems in areas with limited regulations. When searching for an e-waste recycler, make sure that the company is committed to recycling locally with e-Stewards or R2 certified vendors in the San Francisco Bay region. 

2. Find Certified Recyclers

   The EPA “encourages electronics recyclers to become certified. Certified electronics recyclers have demonstrated to accredited, independent third-party auditors that they continually meet specific high environmental standards and safely manage used electronics. Once certified, continual oversight by the independent accredited certifying body holds the recycler to the particular standard.” Make sure to search for recycling agencies or businesses that have e-waste recycling certification or accreditation. 

3. Hire only the Most Reputable Junk Removal Companies

   If you don’t have the time to research local, certified e-waste recyclers, you can also consider calling Junk King of South San Francisco. We are proud to be the number one rated junk removal service, providing superior value, service and effort to the customers we serve. If you live in South San Francisco, Junk King can help you comply with all relevant recycling and trash removal laws and ordinances for all your sources of e-waste. Junk King South San Francisco supports the recycling initiatives and ordinances that are helping to make San Francisco one of the greenest (if not the greenest) city in North America. We have several connections with local and certified e-waste recycling centers, donation and thrift shops, and other businesses to ensure that your used phones, TVs and other sources of e-waste is not shipped across the world or sent to our local dump. 

We serve individuals, homeowners, and business owners located in Brisbane, Burlingame, Daly City, El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, Montara, Moss Beach, Pacifica, San Bruno, San Mateo, or other parts of South San Francisco. Unlike other junk removal services who simply drive your trash to the nearest landfill, we make a sincere effort to recycle or donate as much as possible. Our mission is to ensure that at least 60 percent of all the trash and junk we collect at each site is either recycled, reused, or repurposed. Virtually 100 percent of the e e-waste (including used and broken phones) that we collect are recycled locally. 

How to Contract Junk King South San Francisco

If you have used phones, electronics, appliances, or other sources of e-waste that you want to donate or recycle, you can schedule your next junk removal appointment with Junk King South San Francisco by simply calling 1-888-888-JUNK. We believe in fair and transparent pricing, and thus make every effort to offer live, on-site pricing, especially for larger jobs. By actually visiting the site and seeing the junk you need hauled away, we can offer you an accurate price for the job. Our on-site price assessment is free and comes with no obligations to hire us. You can also text us a photo of the junk or trash items that you need removed at 737-888-5865, and we will text you back a price estimate. 

Lastly, we also offer an efficient pricing estimate online. Just follow the link on the “Pricing” tab on our website, scroll to pricing estimator, enter your zip code, and choose estimate “By List Item” or “By Truckload.” We offer a $20 rebate for hiring us online. 

No matter how you choose to contact us, we here at Junk King South San Francisco guarantee to outcompete any written estimate. As a junk removal company that is licensed, insured, and is fully committed to running a recycling-based operation, we also are amazingly able to offer the most competitive (and transparent) pricing for all our junk removal services in the South San Francisco area.