How to Get Rid of Old Electronics

We all have them… the dreaded box of wires, cables and other miscellaneous electronic junk just sitting in your storage room taking up space.  Most likely you wouldn’t even be able to identify the stuff in there to save your life, but yet you keep it anyway just on the off chance you may need it someday.  While you may have one or two cords worth saving (only because they go to a device that you are still using of course) most of what’s in there should be disposed of.  

Rarely do I work with a client who doesn’t ask me what to do with the random old electronics that have piled up in their storage areas so I put together this quick list of a few basic resources. 

Goodwill

  This is where I take mostly everything that clients get rid of in the electronics department (think old cell phones, computers, etc).  They have a partnership with Dell and they recycle and repurpose most of the items you drop off.  

Scrap metal recycling centers

Brought all that stuff to the Goodwill but they turned down a random box of wires and cable boxes?  You can take stuff like that to a local metal recycling center like this one: https://recycling.arlingtonva.us/locations/earth-products-yard/ in Arlington.

Electronic disposal centers

Don’t want to deal with the hassle of loading up all that stuff in your car and dropping it off?  Easset Solutions in Falls Church offers a service where they will come to your home or office and pick it up.  On Saturdays they have a free drop off although you will pay a small fee ($1 per inch) on TV monitors.   https://www.eassetsolutions.com/accepted.php

Trash

Yes, it isn’t ideal or very green but I’d rather see this stuff in the trash than taking up precious space in your home. 

Not located near Arlington or Falls Church?  These are the places I use because I live in Falls Church and have a lot of clients in Arlington but if you aren’t located close to them just google ‘hard drive disposal’ or ‘scrap metal recycling’ + your city.