Department of Streets

The National Retail Federation estimates that back to school spending serves as the second biggest consumer spending event for retailers behind the winter holidays.  Even people without school-aged children take advantage of "Back to School" sales on clothing, electronics, office supplies, shoes, etc.  Of all the items purchased for a new school year, the largest amount of money will be spent on electronics.  Top electronic purchases include computers, cellular phones, MP3 players, net books, and digital cameras.  Whether you are shopping for your children, grandchildren, or yourself, remember what you can do to reduce, reuse, and recycle during this back to school season.

Some electronics items will be first time purchases, but others will replace existing items.  For those items that are simply being replaced, consider the following suggestions:

• Share used item(s) with family or friends.
• Donate used, functional items to charity
• Recycle broken, non-working electronics
• Recycle cellular phones
• Recycle electronic media such as CDs, DVDs, flash drives, memory cards, VHS tapes, etc.

Also, when purchasing electronics, consider the following:

• Buy used or refurbished items.
• Share electronics with family and friends rather than everyone having their own.
• Buy products made from and/or packaged in post-consumer reused/recycled materials.