How do you dispose of (or donate) old computers and cell phones?

[JoeHova]

Hi everybody-

 

I'm doing a bit of spring cleaning and I think it's finally time to dump some of my old electronic equipment. Most of it can be straightforwardly given to Goodwill but I don't know what to do with computers or cell phones. I don't want to just trash them because they tend to have a lot of personal information on them (plus, I'm not sure you're supposed to do that anyway). Does anybody have any suggestions about what to do with them? I seem to have a vague recollection of some charity where you can donate cell phones to soldiers overseas, is that still going on? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[ReverendBrewmeister]

I know that some organizations collect used mobile phones---as well as empty laser printer cartridges, laptops, PDAs, and other small electronic goods---as part of a fundraising effort. My parish's ladies' auxiliary group is currently doing that, and I know of other church groups that have done that. I'm sure that it's not limited to religious groups; other non-profit organizations and schools likely also participate in similar collections. So maybe checking with local elementary schools, churches, or other charities would get you some details of collections in your area.

[burniebrewer]

Joe, I recall that you're not from Madison, but I read today that the city is having an electronics drop off at the Alliant Center in June, free of charge.

 

They did this last year and it was wildly successful. Sure beats paying for a sticker and having the city swing by on trash day to pick it up.

[nate82]

One site for all your answers.

 

http://www.epa.gov/epawas...ials/ecycling/donate.htm

[1992casey]

After following one of the links on the page nate82 provided, I see that Best Buy wants hard drives removed from computers, and they won't take them separately:

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/si...0025&DCMP=rdr0001422

 

I was going to suggest removing the hard drives anyway, or at the very least, wiping data very thoroughly. With cell phones, I'd look for the menu item that resets it to factory condition.

[dadofandrew]

I throw them in the weeds behind our house.