Community Tech Tip – How To E-Cycle in the Wenatchee Valley

by Russ Alman, Communications Director

​​One of the frequent questions I receive from Foothills Community Center (FCC) members is what to do with their old electronic devices. Most of us now have a drawerful of old cell phones, music players and mismatched batteries, plus old laptops and TVs in a closet or on a garage shelf. You may not have disposed of them because you are not sure where to bring them, or you might be concerned about someone accessing the information stored on them.

It is very important that you do not throw old electronic devices in the trash. They contain toxic chemicals and compounds, including lead and mercury that can leech out of landfills and into the soil and our water supply. And many of the other components do not biodegrade naturally. In the case of rechargeable batteries, there is a reason they are labeled as a fire hazard: lithium-ion batteries, when exposed to extreme heat or punctured, can explode and start a chemical fire.
Sadly, while the electronics industry has grown exponentially over the past 40 years, recycling their components is still lagging way behind. Many of the materials in these devices can be reused, including precious metals like gold, silver and platinum. Electronics manufacturers are doing a better job of building and packaging their devices from recycled materials and materials that are easier to recycle, but consumers are still generating millions of tons of e-waste every year that is not being recycled.

Thankfully, for the most part, Washington state has been progressive about offering options to recycle electronics. While there are some notable exceptions, most of your old devices do not need to become e-waste. With a little effort, you can do your part to make sure your discarded electronics avoid the landfill.

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E-Cycle Washington. The state of Washington operates a program called E-Cycle Washington that makes it easy for you to recycle desktop and laptop computers, tablets, computer monitors and televisions. The Goodwill stores in both Wenatchee and East Wenatchee are e-cycling locations under this program. Simply bring your devices to their donation areas and they will handle the rest. The E-Cycle WA website also has a searchable database of locations throughout the state that participate in the program, as well as contact information in case you have questions about what specific items they accept. Notably, E-Cycle WA does not accept peripherals like mice, keyboards and printers, nor do they accept cell phones and smartphones. But read on for alternatives.

1800recycle.wa.gov. The state of Washington also maintains a searchable database of locations that recycle items not accepted through E-Cycle WA. If you use this service, call the locations to verify that they do, in fact, accept the items you need to recycle.

In addition, here are some national corporate-sponsored e-cycling programs:

Home Depot and Lowe's both accept rechargeable batteries from electronic devices through a partnership with Call2Recycle. These self-service kiosks are usually located near the front of the store or at the customer service desk. Alkaline batteries are not accepted. 

Office Depot — including the Wenatchee store — offers a pay-to-recycle program for all small electronics. You purchase one of three sizes of e-cycling boxes, fill it with whatever you can fit in the box, and then drop it off at the customer service counter. The boxes range in price from $8.39 to $27.99, and the largest box is 24x18x18 inches with a maximum weight of 60 pounds. You can order the boxes on their website for pickup in store or just bring your items into the store and buy the box on site. Visit Office Depot's website to view and buy the boxes online.

Staples. While we no longer have a local store, Staples accepts printers and just about every other kind of small electronics for free. They also give rewards points depending on the item. If you happen to be taking a trip to Renton or Moses Lake, this might be an option, though I recommend calling the specific location ahead of time to confirm. More information is available on the Staples website.

Best Buy allows residential customers to e-cycle up to three items per day, including printers, at no cost. Again, if you're headed to the Westside, Spokane, or Yakima, make e-cycling part of your trip. Visit Best Buy's e-cycle page for more information.

Amazon. If you are looking for an online option, Amazon offers a recycling program for "small consumer electronics" through a recycling company called Re-Teck. Just fill out this form to request a free shipping label and you can send them a variety of e-items, including tablets and e-readers, fitness trackers, chargers and cables, and even device covers at no charge. Amazon offers this program as a part of their "Amazon Sustainability efforts."

Donate for Reuse. Instead of e-cycling, if your electronic devices or media are still functional, consider donating them for reuse or resale. Our Second Chance Thrift Shop (and other thrift shops in our area) will accept many of these items. We only ask that you make sure they are still operational. 

Upgrade and Trade-In Programs. Check with the manufacturer of your equipment. Some manufacturers offer e-cycling programs for their brand of devices and may even offer you a credit towards future purchases. I have also seen "conquest" promotions where you can trade in competitor's devices for credit toward new devices. This can be hit or miss, but worth investigating.

Amazon also offers a trade-in program for a variety of electronic devices. Telecommunications companies like Verizon and AT&T also offer trade-in programs for old smartphones — depending on the promotion, they sometimes allow you to trade in any device, working or nonworking.

Disabling Devices. You should erase all of your personal data. Instructions for doing this will vary by device and are too varied to cover in this article, but you can find instructions for doing this from a Google or YouTube search. Your tech-savvy grandkids or next-door neighbor can probably help you with this too! 

If the device no longer operates and you want to be extra cautious, consider physically disabling the storage device. If a computer has a hard drive, you can remove it and drill hole through it, break off the connectors with screwdriver, or my personal favorite — smack it a few times with a hammer. If anything, I've found this to be cathartic! Just make sure to never damage the battery.

For legal reasons, recycling programs won't always guarantee destruction of data, but typically they will disable storage devices as part of their process — you're more likely to have data stolen if you throw electronics in the trash. It's worth mentioning that Amazon states in writing that under their recycling program, their e-cycling partners will destroy all data on devices sent to them.

With your help, old electronics can stay out of landfills, be reused for other tasks, or recycled into materials to make new electronics and other materials.