# Recycling electronics and shoes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099 "2002-07-15T19:26:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/1 "2002-07-15T19:26:12Z")
I have a whole bunch of stuff that is now useless for their intended purpose, but I hate to just have them end up in a landfill. Specifically, I have an old cordless phone unit and digital answering machine that got fried when my phone line was hit by lightning. Surely someone somewhere could use whatever parts remain uncharred (if only the casings)? Also, I have an old pair of hiking boots that turned out to be cheap pieces of crap and fell apart in less than a year (cracks all over, not even remotely water resistent anymore). I wouldn’t inflict such crap on any charitable resale shops, but is there someplace that can rip them apart and use the soles and other materials for something? I feel bad enough that I live in a city and cannot recycle/compost my trash bags full of garbage… ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/2 "2002-07-15T20:56:43Z")
Herewith the problem with recycling – you will probably spend more time and money and energy trying to recycle this stuff than you will save resources by recycling it. That said, there are some companies that recycle computers for their materials. Digital phones and answering machines might fall into that category. Again, this is only going to be worth it if you can find one that’s local. I’d say chuck them. BUT – you should pull the nickel-cadmium battery out of the phone and recycle that. Cadmium is nasty stuff. Everything else in the phone is just plastic, metal and silicon. Junk, but probably not particularly toxic junk. Hiking boots – not likely. Those Vibram soles aren’t particularly biodegradable, but neither are they going to be easy to recycle. Just chuck the damn things and send a few bucks to the Sierra Club to salve your conscience. Or save them as your “What do I wear when I paint the kitchen?” shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/3 "2002-07-16T07:55:33Z")
I’ve heard that playground surfaces can be made from ground-up rubber soles, but I don’t remember how one goes about donating to such. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/4 "2002-07-16T08:05:25Z")
It’s pure crap. It was cheaply made to be cheaply disposed of. Don’t interfere with a natural process. [Crocodile Hunter Voice] It’s Nature’s Way [/Crocodile Hunter Voice]. .Just throw it away. No one in a modern industrial economy can use your busted, worn out junk without investing more time and effort than buying new would entail. Get over it. Let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/5 "2002-07-16T14:30:26Z")
Take it all to Goodwill and let _them_ figure out if it’s worth anything or not. At least that way you get a tax write-off. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/6 "2002-07-16T14:43:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > \*\*Take it all to Goodwill and let _them_ figure out if it’s worth anything or not. At least that way you get a tax write-off. \*\* Goodwill (and related thrift stores) want useful times to re-sell and do _not_ want items that are known to be fried or defective or clothing that is unwearable. All you’re doing is making Goodwill do the work of throwing away the clothing for you, and seriously jerking around someone of probably limited means who buys the electronic item on the good faith assumption that it works only to discover he has a piece of junk. The first is lazy and the second is deceitful. Just throw the crap away. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/7 "2002-07-16T14:43:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > \*\*Take it all to Goodwill and let _them_ figure out if it’s worth anything or not. At least that way you get a tax write-off. \*\* Goodwill (and related thrift stores) want useful times to re-sell and do _not_ want items that are known to be fried or defective or clothing that is unwearable. All you’re doing is making Goodwill do the work of throwing away the clothing for you, and seriously jerking around someone of probably limited means who buys the electronic item on the good faith assumption that it works only to discover he has a piece of junk. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/8 "2002-07-16T14:56:12Z")
Sorry for the double post. First one posted accidently before being edited. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/9 "2002-07-16T17:35:28Z")
There aren’t going to be any exotic materials in the aforementioned appliances that would be worth recycling. Remove the NiCds (I think you can recycle these at Radio Shack - give them a call) and toss the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/10 "2002-07-16T18:14:07Z")
All I suggested is that the op defer to a professional as to whether or not said items have any value. What’s wrong with that? If there is no value, then the items get thrown away, same as the op would have done in the first place. If the op tosses the items into the garbage out of ignorance, what has that achieved? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-electronics-and-shoes/119099/11 "2002-07-17T14:51:26Z")
Attrayant, most likely they won’t accept them. I work for three thrift shops & believe it or not we often say NO to stuff. One of our shops we charge $25 to accept a tv cause thats what the dump charges us to put it there. $15-20 for computer equipment too. Phones like that we throw out. Sure, maybe people can’t afford things so they shop in thrift stores, but they have enough dignity to not buy or wear usefless things.