Statistics reveal that 40 million tons of electronic waste are generated each year, and gaming consoles make a significant portion of it.
This means disposing of old gaming gadgets correctly is essential; otherwise, they will keep adding to the already growing landfills.
Give them to charity, pass them down to someone in the family, or ship them to an e-recycling facility.
Gaming Consoles: What to Do With the Old Ones?
Like all electronic items, gaming consoles are replaced every so often for various reasons.
Sometimes a gamer may get a new model because it was recently released or because they have been using their old one for ages.
Either way, no matter how much you love a gaming console at one point, a time will come when you will have to part ways. When that happens, you must dispose of it responsibly to protect the environment.
Before we get to how you can do that, let’s get a few things straight.
Firstly, don’t hold on to your old gaming gadgets when you get the latest model, especially if you don’t play them.
You know you’ll have to give them up eventually, so why not do that while they are perfectly fine and functional?
Secondly, try to use your consoles with care to keep them functional for long. People often get a little aggressive while playing video games and end up tossing the joypad rather forcefully.
Doing so may not do instant damage to your prized possession but will surely affect its performance in the long run.
And you don’t want that if you intend to give your gaming consoles to someone else later on.
Donate Your Gaming Consoles
While you are privileged enough to enjoy the most recent video games in your massive game room, many only dream of ever owning a gaming console.
But surely, you can help them play by donating yours to a charity.
There are many charitable organizations that accept electronic items to get them to the underprivileged. You can look them up and find one in your area.
Once you have a name, contact the team and figure out the logistics.
Besides the non-profit agencies that will send your gaming gadget to someone who may not be able to afford it otherwise, you can contact charities that sell products and use the proceeds for their cause.
In simple terms, there are two types of non-profit organizations that will be willing to take your old consoles off your hands.
- One that will accept your material donation and give it to someone needy as it is
- Another one that will sell your console and use the money earned to help people in need
Whichever of the two you choose to give your gadgets to, be sure to reach out to them as soon as you purchase the new model.
Timing is critical when it comes to the longevity of electronic products. The sooner they are used, the better, or they get outdated before you know it.
Therefore, once you decide to donate your used gaming console, don’t waste time.
Give Your Gaming Console to a Café or Library
Many modern cafes, libraries, and community centers have games to keep youngsters engaged.
If you can’t find a place to donate your old consoles, you can give them to a local library, café, or community center.
You can also contact an orphanage and give the kids there a chance to enjoy video games.
Pass Your Gaming Consoles to Someone in the Family
Passing down possessions to younger siblings or cousins is a universal practice in families worldwide.
Typically, it’s followed when dealing with clothes and other wearable accessories.
But there is no rule saying that you cannot adhere to the same principle to take care of old gadgets. You can certainly pass down your gaming consoles to someone younger than you in the family.
That said, when you do give your game to a family member, be sensitive about it and don’t make it seem like you were throwing your console out, and so you decided to be generous.
Instead, tell your relative that you got a new one and didn’t want your old, perfectly fine game to gather dust. Therefore, you want them to have it.
Sell Your Gaming Consoles
If you want to make some money getting rid of your used gaming gadgets, you should consider selling them. There are many ways you can do that.
Go to a local electronic store to sell your game in person, provided that the place you choose accepts secondhand items. Many retailers deal in used gadgets to resell them.
You can visit one of those and cut a deal.
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of finding a shop on foot, you can look up businesses online that take old electronics in exchange for money.
That said, negotiating a profitable price with retailers is not easy as they are professionals.
They know how to engage with an inexperienced seller. If you want to get a fair price, look up the cost of a brand new piece of the model you wish to sell.
This way, you will know what should be the value of your console.
Another way to get a buyer for your game is by putting it up on a classified ad website such as Craigslist. Apart from that, you can list it on websites like eBay to connect with buyers directly.
Lastly, you can ask around for gamers interested in buying your console. If your game is in good condition, the chances are you will get many offers once the word gets out.
So, perhaps you can join a Facebook group of gamers and post about your game there.
When discussing selling old gadgets, it is worth mentioning that you must have all the accessories intact; otherwise, your console’s value will drop drastically.
Nobody likes to buy a secondhand electronic that doesn’t have come with all its add-ons.
Utilize a Buyback Program
Many brands offer buyback programs for their products, encouraging users to return their consoles after they have had their fun.
Companies like Nintendo, Apple, and many others have take-back initiatives, which give gamers the best way to dispose of their used gadgets.
So, look up if you can ship your console back to its manufacturer.
Recycle Your Gaming Console
Like all electronic items, gaming consoles are made of harmful materials that damage the environment if left in the open. Due to this, throwing gadgets in the trash is not advisable.
Toxic elements such as beryllium, bromine, phthalates, PVC and polyvinyl chloride, etc., are present in electronics, and gaming gadgets are no different.
Considering the hazardous components in a console, it’s safe to say that when people throw out their PlayStation, Xboxes, Wiis, and Nintendos, they endanger the environment significantly.
When the substances mentioned above react with one another and other chemicals found in landfills, they release much more toxic emissions that are not only bad for Earth but also human health.
To reduce the adverse impact of consoles on the environment, recycling is vital. And the good news is that most recycling facilities treat gadgets.
So, all you need to do is contact one in your area and dispose of your gaming consoles right.
Important Steps to Take Before Giving Up Your Console
Before you give away your game to anyone, you must reboot it to save your data from getting out. If you don’t do that, you can become a victim of cybercrimes.
Therefore, follow these steps to delete all your data from your device.
- Many gaming consoles nowadays offer the provision to backup data. If yours does, too, you should retrieve all the information it has and transfer it to an external storage device.
- A lot of games require users to log in to play. Due to this, gamers enter their account details into their gadget. If you did that, log out and clear the history.
- Perhaps the most important detail a user can put into their console is their credit card credentials to make in-game purchases. If you added your credit card details, you must delete them all before anything else.
If you forget about wiping the data on your device, you will put yourself at risk of becoming a victim of cybercrimes. And once you cross paths with a cybercriminal, getting out of it can be difficult, not to mention traumatizing.
So, save yourself from unnecessary trouble and wipe your console before giving it to anyone.
One last thing that you should do is reboot your gadget and revert it to its factory settings. Doing so will ensure that it goes back to how it was when you first bought it.
So, in case you miss a detail, rebooting will delete it automatically.
Ending Note
Bidding farewell to a prized gaming console can be painful. However, you must do it; otherwise, your game will only gather dust while you get busy with your latest purchase.
You can do that in three ways; either give it to a charity, friend, or family. You can also resell it or send it to a recycling plant if all else fails.
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