Salvage the small stuff

Chances are you don't dispose of large items such as desktops, notebooks, and displays very often. But what about smaller gadgets and consumables that become old (or depleted) much quicker? These are also harmful to the environment and need to be carefully recycled.

If you print regularly, you know how fast those expensive ink cartridges run dry. Fortunately, most printer vendors offer cartridge recycling programs and may even send you a prepaid mailer for returning them. HP, Canon, Dell, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, and Xerox will recycle your old printer (or other electronics) for free, and Epson does so for a fee. Some programs offer product discounts in return.

Reselling used inkjet and toner cartridges is another way to put some green in your pocket. You can use prepaid mailers, available in many post offices, to send your used printer cartridges to Recycle-Free. The organization also lets you earn cash by collecting empty cartridges as a fund-raiser for your school, church, or business; it will supply collection envelopes and boxes for free. We Buy Empties pays from 10 cents to $3 for each depleted inkjet cartridge.

Plenty of organizations accept old mobile phones for reuse. The Charitable Recycling Program, Collective Good salvage secondhand cell phones. (Collective Good also accepts PDAs and pagers.) If the gizmo works, they'll give it to a charity; if not, they'll recycle it in an environmentally responsible manner.

The rechargeable batteries in phones, electric razors, and other gadgets also need to be recycled. Rechargeable Battery Recycling provides the addresses of local businesses that will accept nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride, lithium-ion, and small sealed-lead batteries to be recycled for free.