• Chobbes@lemmy.world
    182·
    11 months ago

    I’ve got bad news for you…

    Sometimes your place of work might have electronics recycling bins or something, but for the most part you’re expected to go to a special eco centre to recycle large electronics and batteries and stuff like this. Often you even have to pay a fee for them to take these items, which seems incredibly stupid to me because it just encourages everybody to throw them out with the normal trash.

    You may find some stores in some places that will take this stuff, but as far as I know this is not commonplace in much of North America. There are also some services where you can pay a fee for somebody to collect an item. We did that for a swollen lithium cell recently.

    • misophist@lemmy.world
      8·
      11 months ago

      You may find some stores in some places that will take this stuff, but as far as I know this is not commonplace in much of North America.

      Every single lowes or home depot has a recycling station for batteries and CFL bulbs at the entrance or near the customer service desk. I assume those stores are all over the country.

    • andrewta@lemmy.world
      3·
      11 months ago

      Not sure if you are willing to share your state but I live in Minnesota and we can get rid of them for free here. My county has a free spot where we can drop off old paint and other chemicals and CFL bulbs for free. Also there is another six spots listed on their website where I can drop CFL bulbs. With the exception of one place it’s all free. The one place I’m not sure if they charge a fee as I’ve never been there and they aren’t open right now. But on a guess I’d say they are also free.

      Again I’m curious which state you live in.

      • hamburglar26@wilbo.tech
        3·
        11 months ago

        My apartment complex has a battery recycling center at least. Best Buy near me had a bunch of bins for various electronics so at least some areas in the US have convenient places for it.

        Now do they actually recycle them vs toss them in the dump? No clue lol

      • Chobbes@lemmy.world
        2·
        11 months ago

        I’m originally from Canada. This might be something that’s gotten better, at least for batteries and CFLs, but I think large electronics like TVs are still supposed to be taken to the eco centre with a fee. I could just be misinformed though.

          • Chobbes@lemmy.world
            2·
            11 months ago

            Oh, cool. I don’t shop at Best Buy or Home Depot or Lowes because they’re all out of the way and I don’t drive, so I don’t really know about these stores. That’s good to know, though.

            • noodle
              2·
              11 months ago

              I love that we have those helpful conversation here on Lemmy!

              • Chobbes@lemmy.world
                1·
                11 months ago

                Yeah! I still wish we had these returns at grocery stores. I’m sure some do it, but I don’t think the ones near me do :(.

                • andrewta@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  11 months ago

                  Honest question : why would anyone need or want to drop off electronics, paint, light bulbs, or batteries at a grocery store? Why not drop it off at an appropriate type place? Example the hardware store will take light bulbs.

                  • Chobbes@lemmy.world
                    1·
                    11 months ago

                    Oh, plenty of grocery stores sell these things, so it would be nice to be able to return them at the same place. This matters especially for people who don’t drive because the dedicated place may be difficult to get to by transit, but it also might just be out of the way for most people which means they’re kind of encouraged to be lazy and just throw it out in the regular trash.

    • SeaJ@lemm.ee
      1·
      11 months ago

      Can’t say I have ever had to pay to dispose of CFLs. Bestbuy takes them as does all of the electronic recyclers around me.

      • Chobbes@lemmy.world
        1·
        11 months ago

        Yeah, this was mentioned in another part of the thread. I wasn’t really aware that BestBuy had electronics recycling because I don’t drive so I kind of stick to smaller shops in my area, and I don’t really go to big box stores like that very often if at all. Where I live is super walkable, but I don’t think I’ve seen recycling for electronics in the nearby stores. I might need to look harder when I’m there again, though.