In 2015, New York will ban the disposal of certain electronics (computers, TVs, etc.) and will require electronics recyling. But until then, finding a place to recycle your electronics can be rather arduous. Due to budget cuts, the Department of Sanitation’s electronic recycling events were canceled so, unless you’re highly motivated and informed, you might be inclined to just dump ‘em.
Since the beginning of this year, electronics manufacturers, including cell phone providers, are required by law to set up programs to take back electronics for recycling.
Even so, electronics continue to permeate the trash and crowd the landfills. Toxic heavy metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium ooze into the earth and people get sick. Lead alone causes birth defects, mental retardation, autism, psychosis, allergies, dyslexia, hyperactivity, weight loss, shaky hands, muscular weakness, paralysis…
But wait! There are people out there with great ideas, ready to help! Katherine Preston is one such person. She started out a “dumpster pirate” and ended up co-founding ExchangeMyPhone, a website where you can recycle your phone in return for some cash money. “Jeremy [Cohen] and I were standing in a dumpster when we came up with the idea for ExchangeMyPhone.” said Katherine, in an email correspondence with me last week. “We saw living proof of the old adage that one man’s rubbish could indeed be another’s treasure.”
The website is simple. You enter the make/model of your old or broken phone, receive an instant price quote, print out a pre-paid shipping label, send off your phone, and get a check in the mail! The website was launched just this year, after some serious "bootstrapping," and seems to be running beautifully.
“We decided to create an answer to America’s mammoth electronics appetite by offering people a financial incentive for doing good.” said Katherine. “We give a second life to phones when possible and responsibly recycle them if they are beyond repair.”
Well, that’s it for today. I have a small mountain of old cell phones in my drawer that I need to go mail to Katherine at ExchangeMyPhone. Get ready for some more blog posts about reuse later this week including Film Biz Recycling, Build It Green NYC, and City Harvest!
Jansyn