Electronics like computers and phones have become vital to modern life, and they're full of unique, valuable materials and technology. Sadly, throwing them away at the end of their lives is incredibly wasteful — not to mention polluting.
One student was lucky enough to be there when their school was ready to toss a pile of laptops in the dumpster and spoke up in time to save several components.
What happened?
The user posted about their lucky haul on the r/computers subreddit. "My school is throwing away laptops and allowed me to take parts home," they said. "They are just thrown in the dumpster," they further commented.
The accompanying photo shows a huge pile of computer chips and drives on the student's desk — and commenters went wild.
"Lucky, OMG!" said one user. "I didn't see those NVME drives under the SoDimm RAM."
"Fourteen NVME drives," the original poster confirmed in the comments. "I think just one is dead but all the others work."
"Damn, I wish I was still at school for this reason," said another user. "Getting NVME drives for free like that would save me so much money."
Why is recycling e-waste important?
As the commenters so enthusiastically explained, electronic waste, or "e-waste," is often full of usable — and expensive — components that can be salvaged. Even if there isn't a whole drive worth taking, there are often materials like rare metals that can be extracted to make more computer parts.
On the flip side, sending e-waste to the dump is dangerous. The same materials that are so valuable to salvage can become hazardous if left to decay. Corroded batteries can become flammable and even explosive, for example. It's extremely important for all e-waste to be processed by a qualified facility before any component goes to a landfill.
What can schools do about this?
Sadly, this isn't the first time that a school with lots of electronics to get rid of just tossed items into the dumpster. However, there are other options available. Besides salvaging parts, they can call recycling facilities in their area to learn which ones accept e-waste.
They can also donate unneeded items to a thrift store or charity or even to families in need within their district.
What can I do about e-waste in my own life?
Schools may be limited by legal constraints and district policies, but ordinary people have even more options for getting rid of old electronics.
Stores like Best Buy and Walmart often offer exchange programs for e-waste and may even give you store credit or other prizes in return. That means that even once you replace your laptop or tablet, you can still get some value out of it.
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