How Do You Dispose Of Your Devices?

The digital scrapyard is mounting up. Where do you take your devices to die?
As the digital age forges ahead, many of us find ourselves with drawers full of relics of technology that is no longer relevant. Clunky old laptops, first generation iPhones, MP3 players we don’t even know how to load music onto anymore—these things languish in our homes taking up space and providing no practical utility.  
It’s a quirk of the rapidly changing digital era that as we have more and more technological functionality at our disposal; our devices retain their value for seemingly shorter and shorter windows of time. Where you used to be able to sell a fax machine or typewriter that was released five years ago, you’d now have a hard time finding a willing buyer for a five-year-old smartphone or laptop. Not only would the technology on them be practically obsolete, but the price point of more current versions would be comparatively lower, and overall a better deal for those looking to purchase a new device.  
Complicating matters even further is the fact that technology manufacturers embed “planned obsolescence” into their devices in an attempt to force their customers to update their technology more frequently. So, even if you manage to keep that smartphone operational in a hardware sense, with each new software update the phone’s operating system becomes less likely to be able to continue working. Though this fact is definitely not a win for consumers—though certainly a boon for manufacturers’ bottom lines—it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
So what’s a tech lover to do? Especially if you’re wary of the environmental footprint of your tech habits, the disposal step of a device’s lifecycle is the place where the most potential damage can be done. The United Nations estimates that consumers disposed of 92 billion pounds of used electronics last year, an increase from 87.7 billion pounds the previous year. Much of those are destined to sit in landfills, leaching harmful chemicals into the environment and encouraging dangerous informal industries which mine the refuse for spare parts and elements. In addition, globally only 12% of smartphone upgrades involve older devices being sold or traded for the new one.
Whether it’s recycling, responsible disposal, trading in or donation, there are numerous better ways and schemes to ditch an old laptop than simply trashing it or letting it languish in a drawer. Here are some of them:
Amazon Trade-In: The e-tailer giant offers consumers “store credit” in exchange for sending in electronics, video games, DVDs, and more to a third-party merchant. Though the amount of credit is dependent on the desirability of the item—and likely not commensurate with what you paid for it in the first place—it’s a better way to get a little bit more value out of a device and dispose of it responsibly.
Buyback Schemes: There are a couple of third-party companies (including Gazelle in the US and Mazuma in the UK) which buy back old devices including phones and tablets in exchange for money. The process is easy and seamless, and usually just involves printing a shipping label  
E-waste: Local councils will often collect electronics on a designated day of the month or at collection points in your community. Though you won’t get any remuneration in return, you can rest assured that your device will be disposed of properly and not result in any further environmental ruin.
Check with your manufacturer: Apple is one retailer that has a recycling scheme and will often give you credit towards your next purchase in exchange for turning in your old device. Again, though the amount may not be near what you think the value should be, it’s a better option than getting nothing in return.