Doing Well by Doing Good: Why Your Business Should Co-Sponsor an Electronics Recycling Day in Your Community

More and more towns and cities across America are holding recycling day events to collect old electronic devices. Electronic recycling days provide a needed service to individuals, who often do not know how or where to responsibly recycle old electrical devices. The events also help assure that donated devices will be recycled responsibly and not end up in landfills.

Image of circuit board and recycling symbol representing the value of recycling electronic scrap with Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners.

Whether you are a company that already has stockpiles of electronics to recycle or a company that wants to do something good for your community, you should consider getting involved. By doing good, you could also have an opportunity to earn income.

Recycling Days Are a Trend

In New York City, for example, the Lower East Side Ecology Center holds about seven electronic recycling days each month in different locations. New Yorkers donate computers, routers, modems, computer peripherals, monitors, scanners, fax machines, copiers, video game consoles, cellphones, cable and satellite receivers, portable music players, and telecommunications equipment.

Suburbs and rural areas are holding electronics recycling days too. South of New York City, for example, Mercer County in New Jersey holds its own Electronic Recycling and Document Shredding events. Local residents are invited to bring in old computers, computer peripherals, microwaves, networking equipment, fax machines, scanners TVs and VCRs.

And those events are just two examples of a major recycling trend that is happening from coast to coast.

Why People Hesitate to Recycle Old Electronics Devices

“I don’t know how to recycle them.”
Your electronics collection day will answer that issue for them.

“I am afraid that my old electronics will do damage to the environment after I donate them.”
When you announce your collection event, be sure to make it clear that all donated items will be recycled profitably.

“How can I get a receipt for what I donated, so I can take a tax deduction?”
This is a question to address as you plan your event. If you are partnering with a hospital, non-profit or other organization, it should be able to issue receipts that will help donators when they fill out their tax returns.

“I am afraid that my personal data will be stolen from computers and cellphones that I donate.”
This is a legitimate concern. You can tell donators to delete all personal data before donating those items. Another option is to have a technical consultant present on donation days to “scrub” all devices clean of data.

Entrepreneurs Are Getting Involved Too

Forward-thinking entrepreneurs are starting to realize that there is money to be made by helping communities collect and recycle electronics.

One such entrepreneur is Matt Gatz, who founded New Life Recycling in Oswego, IL. According to an article in the Oswego Times, Gatz helped the city of Oglesby run its electronic donation day last November. According to the article, the event collected and recycled 91.5 tons of electronic devices from area residents. In exchange for a fee, the company handled the technical aspects of collecting and dismantling the donated devices for recycling. Inside every electronic device are printed circuit boards, gold-plated electronic pins and connectors, memory and CPU chips and more that can be recycled profitably in quantities.

3 Profitable Strategies for Helping Your Community Recycle

If the idea of helping your community recycle appeals to you as a way to do well by doing good, here are some approaches that can help you turn your good intentions into profits.

Strategy 1: Partner with local businesses, schools, hospitals and other institutions.

Many of them offer ideal locales and facilities for holding electronics recycling days. They also have the ability to announce and promote the event in local media, which can increase the likelihood that the collection day will be a success.

Strategy 2: Negotiate a business arrangement that will let you earn money by doing good.

Like Matt Gatz, you could charge a flat fee for helping your community collect and recycle donated items. Or you could agree to share the value of the gold and other precious metals that you recycle with your town or sponsoring entity.

Strategy 3: Partner now with a qualified precious metals refinery.

Call Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners at 800-426-2344 so we can help you create a plan for collecting and recycling electronic devices profitably.

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