Although we are addicted to the convenience and connections afforded by today’s electronic devices, many people fail to realize that by buying them, they are entrapping themselves in the vicious cycle of planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence means that products are designed to be replaced as quickly as possible, which in turn creates a major problem when it comes time to decide how to dispose of all of those unwanted electronic devices safely. Recently, 1-800-RECYCLING.com caught up with Ryan Redshaw, the founder of Recycld, a new company out of Jacksonville, FL, that takes a unique approach to encouraging people to recycle their old, inefficient electronics. 1-800-RECYCLING.com: What does Recycld do? Ryan Redshaw: At Recycld, our main goal is to create a truly consumer-friendly electronic recycling experience. We recycle just about every electronic that is out there, with the exception of televisions, but we are working on finding responsible ways of recycling them, too! Our company caters to the local market by picking up our customers’ electronics within a reasonable time frame and at a very reasonable price. We only charge $10 per visit and we will pick up as many electronics as the customer wants to get rid of. 1-800-RECYCLING.com: What inspired you to start this company?

Redshaw: I actually had an old desktop that had been sitting in my closet for quite some time, and I wanted to find a way to recycle it. I’m pretty tech savvy, so I knew what kinds of things computers have in them and knew that I couldn’t just put it out to the curb. I had heard about other companies that would buy your old electronics and couldn’t wait to try them out. To my surprise, my desktop was worth nothing, according to the online recycling service I tried, and I would have had to pay the shipping for them to recycle it for me. Then I tried some of the local e-waste recycling companies, but they didn’t seem to be interested in my lone desktop, they were interested in picking up items in big quantities from businesses. All of this just really made me realize why only about 15% of electronics are disposed of properly/recycled in the U.S. That was when I told myself that I could fix the issue and that is how Recycld was born. 1-800-RECYCLING.com: You mentioned other electronics recycling companies. How is Recycld different? Redshaw: The main difference between Recycld and other companies such as Gazelle or YouRenew is convenience. If you try to recycle your computer with them, you’ll have to take the time to package it and send it out and then you go into what I call the “hope and pray” stage. You hope that they get it and then pray their evaluation of your computer is the same as yours. What Recycld offers is a way to make recycling electronics simpler for the customer. They don’t have to do any packing or lifting of anything. They don’t have to give an evaluation of their electronics. All they have to do is call us or contact us online and we will take care of everything. We will personally pick up their computer for the same price or less than it would cost to ship it. Both Gazelle and YouRenew are excellent companies. They have changed the world of electronics recycling and have many dedicated users. We simply recognize that there are many Americans who have electronics that aren’t trendy anymore and don’t have value to companies like them. Recycld is more than happy to help those people. 1-800-RECYCLING.com: Can you give us any hints about the upcoming Deals section of your site? Redshaw: We are really looking forward to launching the Deals section of Recycld.net. We are working hard with companies like Apple, Dell and HP to allow us to provide special discounts on their products to those who choose to dispose of their electronic waste responsibly. We feel the best way to reach the people who aren’t aware or don’t really understand why they should recycle these electronics is by offering them a good old discount on the new electronics they may want to purchase. Creating more conscious consumers is better for electronics companies, the environment and the people. It’s a win-win-win! The deals will be announced via regular Recycld newsletters. This way we can keep people informed about the happenings of both Recycld and the e-waste world, and also help them grab a great deal! 1-800-RECYCLING.com: Anything else you want to tell the world about the Recycld mission? Redshaw: One of the biggest things we want people to know about us is our dedication to the motto “First, do no harm.” While it’s more commonly used in the medical world, we feel this motto has great importance to the world of electronics recycling as well. Recently, there have been many stories of recycling companies that claim to be repurposing electronics responsibly, when in reality they are simply sending them off to Third World countries and creating horrendous landfill problems. While we are a for-profit company, we believe responsibility comes before profitability. We vow to make sure that all electronics recycled through us will either be reused or, if they must be disposed of, we make sure that they are disposed of responsibly. We only work with certified recyclers, and make sure that they are recycling properly. Learn more about Ryan and his company at Recycld.net!