Electronics Recycling in Ottawa, Ontario
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Electronics Recycling At Home
The future is in your hands.
Don’t let it go to waste.™
Electronics recycling at home is your opportunity to have a direct impact on the environment. Our electronics are filled with resources – everything from glass and plastic to gold, silver, copper and palladium – that need to be recovered and recycled and it’s never been easier to do so. There are over 2,500 Recycle My Electronics authorized collection locations across Canada, including right here in Ottawa.
The Recycle My Electronics program recycles approximately 15.5 million devices a year in Ontario and since the program began in 2009, we have recycled approximately 100 million devices. Consider this – recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent of the electricity used by 3,657 homes in a year.
Why Recycle?
There are so many good reasons for recycling your end-of-life electronics right here in Ottawa – here are just a few of them.
When you recycle your end-of-life electronics through a Recycle My Electronics authorized drop-off point you’re:
Keeping e-waste out of Canadian landfills.
Confirming the safe and secure destruction of personal data stored on hardware.
Recovering resources like gold, silver, copper and palladium so they can be recycled to go back into new products.
Preventing e-waste from being illegally exported or handled by irresponsible recyclers, decreasing environmental issues for the planet.
Protecting workers’ health and handlers’ health and safety.
The future is your hands. Don’t let it go to waste.™
The EPRA/Recycle My Electronics program is pleased to announce that over one million tonnes of end-of-life electronics have been diverted from Canadian landfill, saving our land and ensuring safe, secure recycling of end-of-life electronics.
About EPRA
As a recognized industry-led not-for-profit organization, Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) provides environmental compliance programs for manufacturers, distributors and retailers of electronics.
EPRA is responsible for the implementing and operating, on behalf of their stewards, a safe and secure program for the recovery and reclamation of end-of-life electronics.
How To Wipe Your Device
Learn how to wipe your device and other practical tips to secure your data & protect your privacy before recycling your electronic devices.
Before you bring your electronic devices to one of our safe and secure drop-off locations, here are some practical end-of-life electronics recycling tips and suggestions:
Assess if the electronic device could be given away.
Ensure the account service for your device is deactivated, if applicable.
Clear your device of personal information, including removing the SIM card.
Wipe your drives. Clear your SIM cards.
Protect your privacy.
Clear all personal information from computers, cell phones and electronics prior to drop off.
Ensure all memory storage areas have been cleared of private information.
Find out how to:
Consult manufacturer’s website or electronics owner’s manual.
Download data erasure software or data shredding apps.
Ask an expert.
Our “How To Wipe Your Device” page walks you through the process.
What Can I Recycle
Learn more about what can be recycle.
Where Can I Recycle?
Use our drop-off location finder to discover an electronics recycling depot near you.
Our electronics are filled with resources – everything from glass and plastic to gold, silver, copper and palladium – that need to be recovered and recycled and it’s never been easier to do so. There are over 2,500 Recycle My Electronics authorized collection locations across Canada and the postal code search makes finding your nearest drop-off location even easier.
Myths About Recycling Your End-Of-Life Electronics
Five things most people get wrong about recycling electronics
Ten years ago, most gadget buffs had a desktop, maybe a laptop and probably a cell phone. Today, we can add tablets, smartphones and a myriad of other technological advances to that list. While our tech keeps marching to the future, many of our ideas about how to recycle our gadgets are stuck in the past. Busting these myths helps protect the environment because the resources needed to make new tech currently reside in your old tech.
Myth #1: Obsolete electronics are worthless.
Actually, our everyday electronics contain valuable commodities such as gold, silver, copper and aluminum. Other materials, such as metals, plastics and glass, can be reused in new products.
It’s not safe or profitable to harvest these elements yourself, but Recycle My Electronics — an industry-led, not-for-profit program that operates the regulated recycling in our province — will make sure that end-of-life electronics are handled safely, securely and in a way that’s environmentally sound.
Myth #2: It’s okay to toss electronics in with the household recycling.
The household recycling program is designed to process many kinds of recyclable materials, but not electronics. So where should you put your old devices? Recycle My Electronics has a handy searchable database of authorized drop-off points across the country. Drop-offs are free and environmentally safe.
Myth #3: Unused electronics are often shipped to developing nations, where they become somebody else’s problem.
The Recycle My Electronics program only works with recyclers who have been verified under the national Electronics Recycling Standard (ERS), which was designed by the electronics industry to ensure that end-of-life electronics are managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner.
These partners are prohibited from exporting electronics or substances of concern to non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations. In addition, they require worker health and safety provisions and downstream accountability.
Myth #4: Products made from recycled materials aren’t as good as those created from scratch.
Glass, silver, copper, aluminum, palladium and plastics can all be recycled and reused continuously without losing their properties. Using recycled materials recovered from electronics to manufacture new products reduces greenhouse gases and the amount of energy used to process raw materials. It keeps substances of concern like lead and mercury out of our ecosystem.
Myth #5: Recycling electronics can put your data at risk.
When your old laptop, phone or computer goes to a recycling facility, it is quickly pulverized to recover its precious metals and other recyclable materials. But to be safe, you should clear your device of any personal information before you drop off your end-of-life electronics. To learn how to wipe the data from your device, check the owner’s manual or visit the manufacturer’s website for instructions.
It’s never been easier to recycle your end-of-life electronics.