What To Do With Your Old Tech?
If you've recently treated yourself or your nearest and dearest have splashed out on some of the latest and greatest tech, it's easy to forget about your old devices. We're all guilty of it, stuffing old phones into drawers, tucking away old laptops, games consoles and tablets only to forget about them, leaving their batteries to degrade and their technology to become more and more obsolete.
This is played out throughout countless homes within the UK. It's not really a problem per se, however there are alternatives to just hiding away your old tech and this week we take a look at some of the options you have.
Sell It
Selling your old tech is a great way of turning something you no longer use into cash to spend on whatever you want and doing something good at the same time by not contributing to e-waste. With social media and the internet it's easier now than ever to turn your unwanted items into cash. The most common ways are through Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay. There is some work that you'll need to do, dealing with questions, getting the goods to your customer and making sure you don't fall for any scams. Each platform has it's pros and cons, so make sure you do your own research and please if you are delivering the item or meeting up with someone, air on the side of caution, meet somewhere public and bring a friend. Don't forget you can maximise the amount of money you get by fixing things like broken screens before selling them. If you're thinking about fixing up your device first, then we'll have what you need and can even do the repair for you. Our website has all you need to carry out any repairs
Trade it in
Unlike selling it yourself this has to be one of the easiest options. Simply take your device and it's accessories to a local tech repair shop or reseller. They assess the condition of the device and normally offer you cash or credit. Although hassle free, the amount you are offered varies greatly from shop to shop, depending on the condition of your device. Most reputable companies will factor in the cost of any relevant repairs and let you know if it is worth having them done before trading it in. from personal experience some of the companies we can recommend are Mobile lab and CEX , but check around your local area, check out the reviews and find someone reputable.
Repurpose
There's been a lot of press recently about Samsungs new Upcycling Programme . The basic gist of it is to take your old tech, such as a samsung phone and repurpose it for something new. For example, most modern phones have light sensors built in to the them, so they know what brightness the screen needs to be to make it legible in the current environment. Using theur built in 'Smart Things' app, you can use that light sensor to turn on your lights in your home when it gets dark. This doesn't just apply to samsung though, there are loads of articles and videos available online that explain how to take something and turn it into something new.
Check out the below video for example. You can check out websites like Instructables where people share how to make things and there's a few things involving your old tech.
Give it to a good cause
One thing that was highlighted durigng the pandemic was the disparity in access to technology within homes in the UK. There are lots of ways now to donate your old tech to charities that will make sure that it gets into the hands of someone who will benefit from it. If it's deemed unsuitable then it will be recycled and made into new tech and the proceeds go to the charity and to raise awareness. If you don't need the money, then donating is one of the best things you can do. Safe in the knowledge you've not only stopped your tech becoming e-waste and going to landfill but you've done some real good. When donating to charity you want to make sure you're giving it to a reputable organisation whether it be local or national and probably one that specialises in donating technology. That way you know they will have proper procedure to wipe any personal data from your devices. If in doubt you can check out Hubbub here.
Recycle it
If your devices are beyond saving, then sometimes the best thing to do is put them out of their misery. USwitch have a great article about the various recycling schemes offered by different manufacturers and how to go about it here.
Now you're armed with the knowledge, go forth and rejoice in knowledge that you have claimed back space and decluttered, not only the physical realm, but also your mind. You too can now live like these youtube minimalist productivity guru's and hopefully, you've done something good for the planet or one of its inhabitants.
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