Spring cleaning? Here’s what to do with your old electronics

The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and it's time to do a little spring cleaning.

If you come across old electronics while going through your closets and cupboards, don't throw them away.

Instead, drop them off at an electronics recycling centre near you.

“People can drop off their electronics free of charge,” explained Gerard MacLellan, the executive director of the Electronic Products Recycling Association.

“We collect them, package them up and send them to a recycling centre where they're dismantled and sent through giant shredders. All the pieces are then separated out and they're sent back into the manufacturing system.”

Electronics that can be recycled include old TVs, monitors, phones, computers, printers, gaming systems, GPS devices, countertop microwaves and home audio/video systems.

And if you open up a box in your basement and find a pager, VCR or Atari, they'll take that too.

“We can recycle probably 90 to 95 per cent of every electronic item out there,” MacLellan told CityNews Halifax. 

“They contain a lot of valuable resources. There's plastics, there's glass, there's copper, aluminum and steel. There's even precious metals like silver and gold,” he added. “All of those can be recouped and put back in the manufacturing system.”

MacLellan said the materials get processed in North America.

You can find your closest electronics recycling centre online at recyclemyelectronics.ca.