#Recycling apower cord for free
You can also try offering your cables for free on Freecycle so someone else can reuse them. If you don’t need it, ask a family member or friend who may need it. It is a good idea to keep a backup charging cord for your phone handy. This may not be true for Apple products, but for other brands, you can often reuse an old cable or plug with a different electronic device. One of the best things to do with your old electrical wires and cables is to reuse them with your new gadgets.Ī lot of charging cords and cables work with multiple gadgets. You cannot go with just one or two cables, but if you have one or more boxes of cables, they might be interested. The quantity they accept depends on the company you visit. These are companies that buy old electronic goods to sell to manufacturers or other people who need them. You could also sell to electrical liquidators. Some might accept only the metal wire, in which case you’d need to remove the plastic covering/insulation first. Most of the metal recycling centers will accept old wires and cables for the copper inside them. You could try listing what you have on Craigslist. Your old charging cord may be just the type of electrical wire they’re looking for. There are a large number of technology enthusiasts and inventors who hang on to old gadgets or develop unique new systems for their use. You may be able to find buyers for your old electrical wires and cables. Here are five ways to extend their usefulness. When exposed to extreme heat and other environmental conditions the plastic coating can release harmful contaminants like lead and dioxins into the environment.įortunately, there are many options for old or unused electrical wires and cables that keep them out of the landfills.
If dumped in the trash, these plastics won’t just break down harmlessly in the landfill.
The plastic coating on the wires and cables is commonly made of polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. But it’s important to keep electrical wires and cables out of the trash – they contain a combination of valuable resources that should be recycled, as well as plastic coatings that are harmful to the environment. Around the globe, human beings throw away around 40 million tons of electrical waste per year.Įlectrical construction material, including the types of wires and cables used in your home wiring, make up a huge part of the waste we offload on our planet. Do you have a box of old electrical wires and cables lying in a corner of your house? You’re not alone.