Last Updated on Feb 18, 2020 by James W

The number of electronic devices that people depend on has spawned a major environmental concern- what do you do with all of that junk once it stops working? A cell phone with a broken keypad doesn’t do anyone much good. In the past, the solution was to chuck it in the trash- unfortunately, that means it ends up in a landfill, where it can leach mercury, lead, and cadmium for years. Today, electronics recycling centers exist that can help reduce the pollution caused by unwanted electronics. The trouble is, they aren’t always the best route to go. Sometimes, it’s better to sell electronics for cash, instead.

To understand when it’s better to sell electronics for cash rather than recycle them, it’s necessary to To recycle a device, it needs to be transported to a recycling plant capable of handling electronic waste. There, it’ll be dismantled so that certain materials can be reclaimed from its various components. Not all parts of a cell phone or laptop can be recycled. Some toxic electronics waste will need to be collected, and either burned off or otherwise disposed of. Once all of the parts that contain reclaimable material have been handled, the rest of the device will be ground up into tiny pieces. After it’s rendered into suitably small chunks, magnets and other measures are used to separate the recyclable metals (like steel, aluminum, and gold) from the plastic.

image credit: sheknows.com

The plastic chunks will be sent on to be recycled into other goods, while the metals will be melted down and sold. This is definitely superior to throwing an electronic device away, but it still has some problems. For one, burning waste off produces pollution. Dismantling electronics requires labor. Breaking things up into pieces small enough to recycle requires a lot of energy.

Read more
Will Price Increase By Delivery Firms Affect Small Businesses?

If you have something that is completely out of date and broken beyond repair, recycling might be the best option. The thing is, most people’s unwanted electronics aren’t that bad off. They might have a cell phone left over from their last upgrade, or a laptop with a cracked screen. In cases like these, it’s always better to sell electronics for cash. Not only is it profitable, it actually ends up being far less wasteful than recycling them.

Trying to sell electronics for cash beats recycling for quite a few reasons. For one, you get paid for selling electronics, but not for recycling them. This is because the amount of valuable material in most electronic devices, like cell phones, is pretty minuscule. Secondly, selling electronics doesn’t produce pollution. Your device won’t need to be melted down, so there aren’t any fumes to be ventilated. Lastly, because your old devices don’t need to be broken into bite-sized chunks before you sell them, selling requires less energy than recycling.

To sell electronics for cash, you just need to get a price quote from a used electronics website, request a pre-paid shipping container, and mail your device in. You’ll get the price you were quoted once your device is received. Your device will be fixed up, erased, and resold to a lucky buyer. The only energy expended is the energy needed for the post office to ship your device, the only labor required is the labor needed to fix it, and there’s no extra pollution involved. What’s more, when you sell electronics for cash, the whole process takes just a short time from getting your quote, to getting your mailer, to getting your money.

Read more
Make and Save Money on Conveyancing

When it comes to environmentalism, the greenest products are those that are already made. Recycling is a great option when there’s no alternative, but chances are your device still has a few good years left in it. If that’s the case, sell electronics for cash, don’t just send them along to the scrap heap. It works out better for you, since you get paid. It works out better for the environment, since there’s no toxic waste burn-off or wasted energy involved. Lastly, it works out the best for the person who ends up buying your old device, since they get the opportunity to own something that they wouldn’t be able to find otherwise.

 

Maristella, a content writer and a web promoter for Cashforsmartphones where you can sell items like your SmartPhone and laptop online.
If you want to teach others how to make money online, you can start by contributing guest post like this one.

Author

Founder and chief editor of makemoneyinlife.com Blogger, Affiliate Marketer, Tech and SEO geek. Started this blog in 2011 to help others learn how to work from home, make money online or anything related to business and finances. You can contact me at makemoneyinlife@gmail.com