As technology advances, and we upgrade to the newest gadgets available. Old electronics tend to accumulate in our basements and garage.

There is a way for you to recycle them instead as meteorologist Jeff Edmondson explains in, "Your Green Life."

There're a number of reasons why we should recycle our old electronics:

"Number one it is better for the environment and the community because there's hazardous components associated with electronics. Number two; it is actually the law to recycle electronics" says Lori Blais.

The hazardous materials found in electronics range from significant amounts of lead and mercury to precious metals, and other materials which are harmful to the environment.

"Your typical cathode ray tube in an average television would probably have 10 and 12 pounds of lead in it," said Blais.

Most of the toxic materials in old electronic devices are easily recycled.
That's what they do at the Materials Recovery Center in Duluth...and they are busier than ever.

Back in 2006 this program saw over 300,000 lbs of equipment, now in 2009 there are in line to see over 600,000 lbs of recyclable material.

Many of the devices they receive need to be sent out of state to be dismantled and recycled.
Plans to bring a dismantling site closer to the Northland are in the works because of the high demand.

"We really need to make sure that those get recycled, really is because they bio accumulate within your body, they bioaccumulate throughout the environment, they don't just go away, and we want to make sure that they are handled properly because we don't want to have future problems," said Blais.

In Duluth, Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson, The Northland's Newscenter.

If you have electronics to recycle you can drop them off at several locations such as:
Radio Shack
Best Buy
Waste Management of America
John's Twin Ports Recycling

To read more on electronic recycling you can read more on Earth911.org