What Counts as E-Waste?

Most people think of laptops and phones. But anything with a circuit board, a battery or internal wiring belongs in electronics recycling rather than household trash. Here are ten items that surprise people.

• Coffee machines. Drip brewers, pod machines and espresso makers all run on circuit boards and heating elements.
• Fax machines. Uncommon now, but the ones still sitting in closets hold stored memory and a great deal of non-degradable plastic.
• Analog and cordless phones. Even the simplest landline handset has a circuit board inside it.
• Audio and video equipment. Speakers, receivers, amplifiers, turntables, DVD players and mixers. Older audio gear often contains more heavy metal than modern electronics.
• Microwaves and mini fridges. Both contain transformers, control boards and wiring.
• Point-of-sale systems. Card readers and register terminals store customer payment information. Clear the memory before drop-off.
• Printers, scanners and cartridges. The machines themselves plus the ink and toner cartridges that go with them.
• Medical and testing equipment. Monitors, meters and testing units can hold both hazardous components and stored personal health information.
• Cameras. Digital cameras, camcorders, doorbell cameras and security cameras. Most retain images on internal memory, so wipe them first.
• Battery backup units (UPS). These should never go in household trash — the sealed lead-acid batteries inside are a fire risk.

E-Waste Accepted at RRDD1

• Computers, laptops, tablets
• Televisions, computer monitors and LCD screens
• Smartphones and cell phones
• POS systems, switches, routers and networking gear
• Blade servers
• Medical and testing equipment
• Audio, visual and media production equipment
• Printers, VOIP phones and analog phones
• Keyboards, mice, cables and cameras
• Coffee machines, microwaves and mini fridges
• Battery backup (UPS) devices