After all, you can drop off your superfluous electronics free of charge for recycling at the new Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) collection site in Kirkfield only 10 mins from Balsam Lake. The new collection bin is at the corner of Kirkfield Road and Water Street, right beside Tombstone Town Antiques, a store with a variety of vintage items, antiques, and collectibles. The OES collection bin is locked overnight. And if you find it locked, just ask Lenora, an OES-approved service provider and owner of Tombstone Town Antiques, to unlock the bin as she has the key. You’ll find Tombstone Town Antiques at 1718 Kirkfield Road.
(The telephone number is 705-438-1366.)

What’s OES?

It’s a not-for-profit industry-led organization that oversees a government-approved end-of-life electronics recycling program throughout the province. Their goal is to help you recycle your end-of-life electronic products, and provide educational resources. OES also helps recover valuable resources that can be put back into the manufacturing supply chain.

What can you recycle at an OES collection site?

Here’s a list of what you can take to an OES recycling bin:

• Desktop computers
  Including those that act as servers along with all bundled keyboards, mice, cables, and internal components
• Portable computers
  Including portable computers such as laptops, netbooks, notebooks, and tablets
• Computer peripherals
  Including both wired and wireless manual input devices such as keyboards, mice, and trackballs
• Desktop printers
  Printers designed to reside on a work surface including laser and LED, ink jet, dot matrix, thermal, dye sublimation, and “multi-function” copy, scan, fax, and print devices. Stand-alone desktop scanners and fax machines are also part of this category
• Floor-standing IT, printing, copying, and multi-function devices
  Floor-standing printing devices including printers, photocopiers, and multi-function devices
• Mobile devices
  Cellular phones and pagers
• Display devices, televisions, and monitors
  Including various technologies such as Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), flat panel (LCD, LED, and plasma) and rear projection
• Non-cellular telephones
  Including corded and cordless phones, as well as telephone answering machines
• Personal or portable audio/video systems
  Including docking speakers, portable stereos, personal CD players, portable audio recorders, tape/radio players, headphones, digital media (MP3) players, voice recorders, and digital and video cameras
• Home theatre-in-a-box (HTB) systems
  Including pre-packaged disc player/speaker/amplifier systems for use with video or television display to create a home theatre experience
• Home audio/video systems
  Including VCRs, DVD, and CD players, digital cable and satellite equipment, speakers, amplifiers, receivers, data projectors, and similar audio/video systems
• Vehicle audio/video systems
  Aftermarket: Including amplifiers, equalizers, speakers, and in-dash audio/video components

How to ensure your personal information will not be seen or stolen

You need to ensure all of your personal data is removed from your electronic devices before you bring them to an OES collection site. If you’re unsure how to remove personal data, please contact your manufacturer for details. Although OES requires all of its recyclers to protect data on electronic products from unauthorized access or theft, it is your responsibility to protect your personal information.

Why it's important to recycle electronics

What happens to an electronic product when the latest version hits the market, and we’re not using the outdated product anymore? It doesn’t seem right just to trash it or stash it in a drawer. And we shouldn’t. Just because they are out of use doesn’t mean they are worthless. These electronic products contain fascinating and reusable materials like plastics, rare earth metals, and precious metals. And they’re recyclable through a process called urban mining. Urban mining is the process of extracting these precious metals and rare earth metals from recycled electronics without disturbing areas that are sensitive ecologically. Not only is it better for the environment, but in some cases, it’s more efficient than traditional mining techniques. Consider this: one ton of recycled smartphones yields 324 times more gold than the same weight of ore from a standard mine. You can help to ensure the end-of-life electronics you have at your Kawartha cottage do not end up in a landfill. Answer the call to give old electronics a new life and help preserve our precious planet. If you have questions, please call 1-888-646-1820. For details about other drop-off locations, please visit www.RecycleYourElectronics.ca.