Your Electronic Trash May Be Someone's Next Treasure

We all love buying the newest iPhone (guilty as charged) or latest appliance for our home but rarely think about what happens to our old items once we throw them away or "recycle" them. According to TheWorldCounts.com, "We generate around 40 million tons of electronic waste every year, worldwide. That's like throwing away 800 laptops every second. An average cell phone user replaces their unit once every 18 months." With so many electronics out in the world, why even buy new at all? Well, thanks to Planned Obsolescence in today's electronic society, we are often replacing items because they are being programmed to slow down or the newest item contains something the last item was lacking. It's time we be strategic about buying our electronics - by settling with items that may not be new or from our current year (inserts shocked emoji here.)

I didn't start thinking about how often we go through electronics until I saw an Instagram story from one of my favorite bloggers, Stevie Van Horn. Almost every day, Stevie makes a tea latte using a milk steamer she bought on eBay. She made the point that so many electronics are wasted each year and that there is never a reason to buy new. This got me thinking about how often I've bought or been gifted new electronics when there are perfectly good slightly used, older models or cosmetically damaged ones out there. I've always wanted my own milk steamer to make matcha and earl grey tea lattes, so I took Stevie's advice - I bought one with slight cosmetic damage off of someone on eBay for almost half the price of it new. It even arrived just as quickly as Amazon Prime!

There are definitely scenarios where buying used or an older model isn't always an option or the best choice, especially when it comes to health equipment - so I'm not saying this is for everyone. What I am saying is if you're in the market for say an Instant Pot, check your local Goodwill or search on eBay. Odds are, you'll find some at a much cheaper price that will last you just as long. This can also work the other way around. Instead of throwing that older Instant Pot away because you received a new one as a wedding or birthday gift, think about possibly re-gifting your old model, selling to your followers or Marketplaces of the world or giving away to a thrift store like Goodwill or Salvation Army. Think of electronics as something someone would love to have, old or new. Your electronic trash could be someone's electronic treasure. Do not simply throw your old electronics away either. There are so many components to electronic equipment that is incredibly harmful to the environment that can also damage water supplies and ecosystems. Electronic recycling isn't always a thing either... check out the dark side of e-recycling on The Verge's article here. Check your local recycling center on how they handle e-recycling and do your own research. Some facilities are better about being transparent than others on their e-recycling practices.

What are some electronics that you bought used or in older condition? Here are some of the switches I've made over the years:

• Macbook Pro - Early 2015 - Once my windows laptop began to corrupt back in college, I knew it was time to buy another laptop replacement. I went with a two year old Macbook Pro from Best Buy and it has worked perfectly even to this day.

• KitchenAid Stand-Up Mixer - Refurbished - I've wanted a KitchenAid mixer for so long and got one for my birthday. It was a refurbished unit off of Amazon (yes, you can buy refurbs in perfect condition) for nearly $100 off its new condition price.

• Gravity Bike Stand - Refurbished - For our loft, we needed a good place to store our bikes and I came across another refurb item off Amazon - a gravity stand where two bikes can stack against a wall. Something as simple as this is the perfect item to buy used.

• Miroco Milk Frother - A perfectly good item off eBay with minimum cosmetic damage. I knew this item wasn't a necessity so kept my expectations low and still got a great option and for cheap!

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash