What to do about e-waste

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The diagnosis has been delivered and the news is bad... very bad: Your hard drive or motherboard is shot and the price of replacing it is more than you paid for the whole system. There is no hope. So you bite the bullet and cough up the funds for a new computer, which probably comes with a new monitor, keyboard, mouse and maybe even a printer. And when the new gear arrives, the old – busted or not – gets consigned to the basement, the garage, or a dark corner of your home.

Old computers and other electronic devices like TVs, radios, printers and fax machines pose a disposal dilemma. You can't just throw them in the garbage, because they contain components that are dangerous to the environment. But you don't want to hang on to them forever, either. Fortunately, most electronics manufacturers now offer a better solution: e-waste recycling services. These services make sure that the parts that can be reused go back into new products and that those that can be safely disposed of are handled accordingly.

McGill's Waste Management Program offers a similar service through a Quebec company called Recypro. Download a form to have your old electronics picked up free of charge at www.mcgill.ca/wmp/forms/ or contact McGill Waste Management at 514-398-5066 for more information.