Green disposal of technotrash (green #12)

It’s sobering how much stuff we have, stuff we don’t need, stuff, stuff, stuff. Never more sobering than at moving time, when it is time to sort and pack and move all of it.

We got into our new place on my Birthday last week, and in the last days we have been moving things over from one basement to another. We’ll move for real in mid-August, and we’re only moving stuff we don’t use daily, such as out of season clothing, Christmas ornaments and decorations, wrapping paper.

We also unearthed a few things that had gone to die in our basement, including some toxic items such as an old computer monitor, fluorescent bulbs for former fish tanks, and a non-working dehumidifier.

There are some that believe the easiest way to dispose of things is to toss them away, despite what they contain. But, I’m doing my best to emulate Dudley Do-Right, so I have tried to be careful.

• I took our computer monitor to Best Buy for recycling (cost $10, but got a $10 gift certificate). They also took the old Tivo and a dead keyboard for free.
• I mailed two unused PDAs to which we no longer had the power supplies and so couldn’t erase their memories to GreenDisk technotrash recycling. GreenDisk will recycle them in a secure way $6.95. I saw the service on the eWashtenaw computer recycling site.
• I took our dehumidifier to the Recycle Ann Arbor Drop Off Station ($28 disposal fee to remove the freon). They also took the fluorescent bulbs ($2, $1/bulb).
• I took other various metal containing items, a dead printer we’d forgotten about inside a cardboard box, styrofoam, tiny paperboard gift boxes, all sorts of stuff. Mostly free, $3 for assorted junk at the Drop Off Station.

Of course, after my monster trip to “the dump,” I found another fluorescent bulb to take, but mostly our basement is now empty and ready for a thorough clean. Although I did have all of that junk in the first place, at least I did the best I could by getting rid of it. Miss Dudley Do-Right is $50 short, but alleviated of a lot of junk.

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