Did you go and spend your $900 stimulus package on a brand spanking new plasma TV and are now using your old set as a foot stool? Perhaps you’ve simply gathered a horde of outdated electrical equipment that’s now gathering dust much to the displeasure of your significant other?

Yes, you could take to said items with a sledge hammer, reducing them to a size that will fit in your garbage bin, however it’s not very environmentally responsible. So what options do you have to get rid of them?

1. If you’re a resident of Sydney, from time to time the various councils hold e-waste drop off days. Sydney City Council is holding one this coming Sunday (June 14th) at their Bay Street Depot from 9am – 3pm (click here for more information). This is a fantastic option as you’re guranteed that every single component than can be recycled, will  be recycled – far preferable to ending up in landfill. In fact the council states that between 95 and 98 per cent of all e-waste collected on the day will be recovered and reused. Other similar schemes are held in all major capital cities around Australia.
2. Deposit them out the front of your abode in the hope that someone else will find use for them. Doing this can be good as it means that you can recycle items that aren’t recyclable in the true sense of the word however tends to work better in some suburbs than others so use your better judgement. Put a TV out on the curb in Enmore and chances are it will be gone in minutes. Put a TV out on the curb in Double Bay and chances are you’ll have a council ranger issuing you with a fine for littering within minutes.  Obviously the newer the item, the better the chances it will go quickly and you can speed up the process by attaching a note saying ‘working perfectly’ (if applicable). Note: Don’t try and fool people into taking items by suggesting it works when in fact it doesn’t as you may well end up with the item being returned via your front window.
3. Give the items away to those less fortunate than yourselves (again this doesn’t limit you to only recycling true recyclables). This could involve donating to your local op-shop, or in the case that you can’t be bothered actually doing anything or going anywhere, simply spread the word that you have some free stuff to get rid of (everyone loves free stuff). This is a technique that I personally favour as it involves an absolute minimum of effort. Just this week we had in our possession what was almost the equivalent of a showcase from ‘The Price is Right’, a television, VCR, surround sound system and set of shelves, none of which we had any use for. A couple of posts on Twitter and a status update on Facebook and just twelve hours later the whole lot was taken away by a friend-of-a-friend.

Do you have any other suggestions as to how to responsibly get rid of stuff you no longer have use for? Perhaps you know of drop off recycling schemes in your local area? Feel free to share them with us here.