Taking home old electronics from your job, if your employer allows it, is a great way to save money on gadgets while benefiting the planet. 

One employee shared that they were able to take some e-waste off their company's hands, and it turned into hours of free entertainment. 

What happened?

In the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, which is famous for calling out the pitfalls of consumer culture, the original poster explained that their employer threw away at least 12 PC towers. Seeing the opportunity, the OP said, "I saved the best of the lot," adding that they MacGyvered several of the towers to create a "Frankenserver" connected to other devices in their home. 

The picture attached shows their innovative e-waste server, on which they store digitized versions of DVDs that allow them to watch free movies and shows to their heart's content, all without needing WiFi.  

"Phenomenal. When society crumbles in a few years you'll be set for entertainment!" one person joked.

"This is awesome, well done!" someone else said.

"Nice man, I like it!" another shared. "Actually interesting how [much] cheaper it is to buy dvd, I'll look into it."

Why does e-waste matter?

If you're able to rescue electronics from your workplace, school, or other places, it can make a big difference in the amount of e-waste ending up in landfills. In some ways, electronic pollution is even worse than plastic because of the heavy metals that can leach into waterways and soil, along with the difficulties in recycling it. 

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Unfortunately, the recycling rate for used electronics is extremely low; the United Nations reported that in 2022, over 68 million tons of e-waste were generated, but only 22% was properly recycled. That doesn't just translate to a huge environmental impact, but also a significant toll on the global economy. 

In the United States alone, $62 billion worth of recoverable valuable materials such as iron, copper, and gold were squandered, resulting in increased mining and labor costs to make up the difference. By reusing these materials, it reduces production costs and conserves natural resources since companies don't need to continuously extract minerals.

However, where recycling takes place matters, as some facilities — especially in third-world countries — don't have the proper infrastructure to safely manage and process e-waste. In some of these informal recycling sites, workers may be exposed to thousands of dangerous chemicals, including lead and mercury, potentially leading to adverse health effects such as respiratory illnesses and poor pregnancy outcomes, per the World Health Organization.

Are companies doing anything about this?

Companies such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Apple offer trade-in programs where customers can exchange their unwanted electronics for perks such as store credit or cash back. In most cases, if your items aren't eligible for credit, the retailers will recycle them for free. 

Scientists are also working behind the scenes to make e-waste less, well, wasteful. For instance, they've come up with a method to extract high-purity gold from both ore and common electronics, meaning less money will be spent on mining. Others have created a leaf-inspired circuit board design that eliminates plastics and is fully recyclable. 

What can you do to reduce e-waste?

If you have a junk drawer filled with random phones, tablets, and accessories that you know you'll never use, consider sending them into the startup Trashie, which offers a Tech Take Back Box to make the process simple. All you have to do is order the box, fill it with your tech, scan a QR code, and send it off to let Trashie work its magic. After that, you'll get access to awesome rewards such as discounted clothing, movie tickets, food delivery, and more. 

Whether you decide to make money off your electronics with rewards programs or selling them independently, there are countless ways to get tech off your hands and fatten your wallet in the process.

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