Staples’ survey, American Tech Recycling Habits, revealed what electronics recyclers are already very familiar with — hoarding of electronics.
The rate at which Americans acquire new electronic devices far outpaces the rate at which they recycle unwanted ones.
While 74 percent of Americans own two or more television sets and 38 percent own two or more smartphones, only 8 percent have recycled their unwanted gadgets.
For every 100 American households, there are 139 smartphones, 119 laptop computers and 252 TVs.
Rather than recycling their obsolete electronics, 24 percent of Americans are more likely to hoard them, 14 percent are more likely to regift them and 10 percent are more likely to sell them for cash.
Not to mention, device replacement is through the roof! 36 percent of responders replaced their smartphones and TVs in the last year. Unfortunately, those who replaced their gadgets, only about 10 percent recycled the old one.
While many areas have certified electronics recycling programs readily available to them year-round, consumers do not take advantage. Earth 911 discovered two main reasons for the lack of cell phone recycling in particular:
1. I don’t know where to take it to be recycled
2. I am worried about the safety of my personal info
Education and awareness around this topic is even necessary closer to home. In a similar study, a Harris Interactive Poll found about 75 million Americans have never recycled their electronics, primarily because they don’t know how. The poll also found that:
26% of respondents didn’t know where to recycle
16% didn’t know how to recycle securely
14% didn’t know their device could even be recycled
12% thought it was too much of a hassle to recycle
6% thought the device was supposed to be thrown in the trash
A number of people would like to recycle their obsolete IT equipment and mobile devices, but simply do not know where to take them. When researching proper electronics recycling, keep an eye out for organizations that are responsible recyclers (R2).
During the last 22 years, HOBI has established itself as a trusted electronics recycler by growing to meet the needs of not only our clients, but the industry as well. By expanding our services to enterprise and mobile devices, HOBI is proud to be a secure and R2-certified option for electronics recycling needs.