Most of you will know that April 1st is change the battery on your smoke detector day. It may seem like an April fool but having a day dedicated to replacing these important items is sensible – as it means we are less likely to forget to do it. Whilst you are buying a replacement battery for your smoke detectors, buy a couple of spares and offer to replace those in any elder relatives and neighbours too. This act of kindness may save a life.
Recycling your old batteries
You’ve replaced the batteries, now what do you do with the old ones?
Some schools, libraries and organisations such as Planet Ark recycle batteries from handheld devices. Have a box at work where your colleagues can put their batteries – then once a year take the box to a collection point.
You may wonder why you can’t just drop batteries into general rubbish.
- Batteries contain important chemicals and elements which can be re-used if recycled, saving resources.
- These chemicals can be harmful if ingested and should always be kept out the hands and mouths of the little people (including inquisitive fur people) in your family.
Bring I.T. Back
If you are anything like me you will have a drawer or two of old cables, chargers and random bits of old I.T. lurking at home. It may be because:
- You think you might find a use for it sometime in the future or (more likely)
- You have no idea what to do with it
The good news is that there are organisations which are doing their best to keep these items out of the landfill and more importantly recycle the components because of the metals used to create them in the first place.
Officeworks have the Bring IT Back program and aims to keep old computers and computer accessories out of landfill. I.T. waste collected through this program is sent to recyclers where up to 98% of the material in the devices is recovered and recycled.
Customers can take up to 5 items at a time for recycling – this includes desktop computers, laptops, computer mice, monitors, printers, scanners, multifunction printers, keyboards, computer power supplies, printed circuit boards, motherboards, network cards, disks and CD drives.
Printer Cartridges and Mobile Phones are also collected at most Officeworks stores which is a great way to not only declutter homes and businesses which means everyone can do their bit for the environment as well – if you are going to take your I.T. back just don’t forget to wipe hard drives first.
Do you have other don’t know what you can recycle or where to take them items – well there are a couple of websites that can help you decide.
http://recycleright.wa.gov.au/your-a-z-of-recycling/
http://m.recycleright.wa.gov.au/my-nearest.html
If you would like some assistance with the decluttering and recycling process for your home, home office or business, just give us a call.
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