![]() Step 5: As an alternative, you can mail your old phone or tablet to be recycled. Step 4: If you've found a spot nearby, it's just a matter of getting out there and dropping off your phone or tablet. For added confidence, find recyclers with R2, RIOS, or e-Stewards certifications. Just punch in your postal code if the browser doesn't detect your location already. Call2Recycle is a great resource for finding drop-off locations. Step 3: Find your closest drop-off point. If the battery is removable, put tape over the contacts to avoid creating a circuit in transport. Step 2: Remove any peripherals, as wall as memory cards, SIM cards, cases, and batteries if you can. There's no sense in letting personal data leak just because you're trying to save the planet. With enough phones going through this process, those metals can be used again without needing to engage in harmful mining for virgin materials. This is all in an effort to pull out valuable metals like gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. Once you've followed these steps, your old phones will get ground up into dust, subjected to a range for sorting methods, doused in extractive chemicals, separated with magnets, and incinerated. As rabid tech fans, we have a responsibility to ensure the graceful transition of old tech into the circular economy. ![]() Eventually, workers attempt to extract whatever value they can from these discarded products using unsafe and polluting methods. ![]() America routinely ships its e-waste off to developing countries where gadgets leach toxins into the soil and the nearby water supply. Globally, e-waste is a massive problem with significant environmental challenges. If it gets mixed in with normal garbage, you're just going to be polluting your own backyard with hazardous chemicals, and potentially poisoning your neighbors in the process. Why recycle your phone at all? For one, your local trash collection is unlikely to accept e-waste.
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