We finally tackled the beast. The mountain of old computers, cable castaways, and a plethora of peripherals that have taken over an otherwise usable office space. I figure that this collection of electronics amounts to between $75,000 and $100,000 of original investment over the past 16 years. Now it’s relatively worthless in our eyes, as either wear and tear or technological advancement have rendered it obsolete.
But not to YouChange.com. They find value in that pile of ewaste.
You Change is a Phoenix-based service that keeps ewaste out of landfills. You can either mail in your your old electronics, or they will pick them up. They will cull through the items, refurbish and resell what they can giving you a portion of the profits, and recycle the rest. None of what you give them will ever hit a landfill.
Derrick Mains, Enviro-entreprenuer, hummus aficionado, and executive vice president of YouChange.com, said,
“Every year more than 140 million cell phones pollute landfills. Add that to computers, mp3 players, game consoles and other electronic items, and the problem is immense. YouChange is remarketing those items that could have a second life and recycling those that don’t. On www.youchange.com you have the ability to see what the secondary market value of your item is and best of all YouChange will buy those items from you! Reducing your impact on the environment and making a buck. What more can you ask for?”
So if you’re like most consumers, you have drawers, and boxes, and closets, and even offices full of dust-collecting electronics. YouChange offers one way to unclutter your life of ewaste and make a dollar or two while you’re at it.
Do you know of other services where readers can easily recycle their electronics? Please share in the comments section below.
Green retailing is the focus of this week’s 
