Technologies

Don’t Throw Away Your Old Devices and Gadgets. How to Recycle Them for Free

Upgraded to a new device? Here’s what to do with your old one.

New phones, tablets, laptops come out every year. You upgrade your tech, and your old device is retired to your in-home gadget graveyard. You probably have a drawer full of old batteries and cables, and some old phones, laptops and desktops lying around, depending on how frequently you upgrade your gear.

We all hang onto outdated tech for our own reasons — I still have my first Nokia block phone tucked away for nostalgia’s sake. There are also multiple ways to repurpose old devices for your smart home, using them as security cameras and more.

Whatever the tech, when it’s finally time to say goodbye, there’s a right way to dispose of your old gadgets — and there are a lot of wrong ways. We’ll show you which is which.

What to do before you get rid of a device

When you’re finished with a gadget, make sure it’s also finished with you. Make sure to back up anything you want off the device — photos, videos, songs — and then perform a factory reset. Here are a few CNET articles to help clarify the finer points of wiping a device:

Here are the best places here in the US to recycle, repurpose or give new life to your old technology.

Smartphone Recycling

Smartphone Recycling lets you print a free FedEx shipping label or request a recycling kit. Ship your old smartphone and you might even get paid, depending on the device’s condition and age. Smartphone Recycling accepts devices in bulk, so you have to ship a minimum of 10. Depending on how long you’ve been hoarding phones, you might meet this quota on your own. If not, check with friends and family and make it a group effort.

What you can recycle: Smartphone Recycling accepts smartphones, cell phones, MacBooks, tablets, iPhones, iPads, iPods and Apple Watches, as well as batteries attached or installed in devices.

Best Buy

Best Buy accepts a wide range of tech products and generally takes three items per house per day. Specifics may vary depending on where you live, but you can check with the state-specific recycling information dropdown menu on the site.

Best Buy also offers a haul-away option for larger appliances like TVs, dishwashers, freezers, microwaves, treadmills and exercise bikes. If you’ve ordered a new product, Best Buy will take away your old one for recycling. There’s also a stand-alone haul-away option that costs $200. You can have two large items hauled away as well as an unlimited number of smaller items, with some exceptions.

What you can recycle: Best Buy can take TVs, cables and chargers, media players, projectors, laptops, hard drives, webcams, cellphones, calculators, radios, landlines, headsets, vacuums, fans, ink and toner cartridges, alarm clocks, speaker systems, e-readers, video game consoles, memory cards, camcorders, digital cameras, GPS devices and more.

Staples

Office supply store Staples also offers free recycling options for old technology. Staples accepts up to seven items per customer per day. The company also has various haul-away options, driver pickup and pallet pickup, as well as prepaid address labels available.

What you can recycle: Staples can recycle accessories, adapters, cables, computers, cordless and mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, routers, tablets, webcams, ink and toner and other office tech items.

Home Depot

Home Depot has an explainer on its website about how to safely dispose of dead batteries, old paint, electronics and other items, as well as tips for upcycling and repurposing. According to RecycleStuff.org, the services are drop-off only for residential customers.

What you can recycle: According to RecycleStuff.org, Home Depot accepts household alkaline batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V), lithium-ion batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, rechargeable household batteries, cell phones and LED light bulbs.

US Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA doesn’t handle recycling and drop-offs the same way other businesses do, but it does have a handy guide that makes it easier to get the information you need. The EPA’s directory breaks down donation and recycling by electronic device, company name, logo and any additional details.

What you can recycle: Again, the EPA’s directory links you out to specific companies and their policies, but according to the list, you can recycle and donate mobile devices, PCs and TVs as well as imaging equipment and supplies.

Electronics Take-Back Coalition

Like the EPA, Electronics Take-Back Coalition makes it easy to find manufacturer take-back programs in the US. You can browse over 25 companies’ take-back program summaries, including Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Sony and more.

The Electronics Take-back Coalition doesn’t handle the recycling, but it can direct you to the proper resource for your needs.

What you can recycle: Depending on the company, you can find places to turn in iPhones, iPads, smartphones, monitors, computers, printers, keyboards, mice, DVD and VHS players, cameras, TVs and more.

EcoATM

EcoATM gives you a price estimate for your old phone that you can lock in on the mobile app using your old device’s IMEI number. EcoATM will ask a few questions about your device like brand, model, memory, carrier and condition before generating a quote. From there, you can visit one of the organization’s kiosks, located at stores like Kroger, Walmart and Dollar General.

What you can recycle: EcoATM can help with iPhones, Samsung smartphones, tablets and MP3 players, Google Pixel phones, LG phones and tablets, Motorola phones and ZTE phones. You can also recycle chargers and cellular accessories like cases, but you won’t be paid for them.

Earth911

Earth911 lets you search by device and ZIP code to find appropriate nearby locations to turn in old phones. When you visit the organization’s website, click Where to Recycle at the top of the page to get started. Earth911 works with well-known businesses like Lowe’s and Target, as well as local waste and recycling centers.

What you can recycle: Earth911 helps you find locations to recycle, but it will also note the materials the location accepts, whether it allows drop-off or pickup for residential or businesses, as well as any additional information.

Recycling for Charities

Recycling for Charities accepts technology donations, but gives a percentage of the device’s value to the charity of your choosing. Scroll through a directory of charities, select one, enter the required information and click donate. Charities receive anywhere between 25 cents and $100 from your items.

What you can recycle: Wireless cell phones and corresponding batteries, iPhones, wireless pagers, digital cameras, iPods, PDAs and Palm Pilots.

Call2Recycle

Call2Recycle is a battery-focused recycling program. The organization offers drop-off options at locations like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Staples, as well as shipment boxes for batteries and cell phones. Drop-offs are free, but recycling kits and shipment boxes cost between $45 and $115, depending on the size.

What you can recycle: Rechargeable batteries like Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion, Nickel Zinc and Small Sealed Lead Acid weighing up to 11 pounds. Call2Recycle also accepts single-use batteries like AA, AAA, 9V, C, D and button cell batteries weighing up to 11 pounds. The organization also accepts cell phones and their corresponding batteries regardless of size, make, model or age.

For more information, check out five things you can recycle (and five things you can’t) and the right way to recycle plastic and the dos and don’ts of recycling metal cans.

Technologies

McDonald’s Snack Wrap: Is the Viral Food Favorite Returning on July 14?

July 14 could be the release date for the much-longed-for chicken Snack Wraps, but Ronald and crew aren’t talking.

McDonald’s is riding a viral wave. The fast-food chain’s Minecraft Happy Meals and adult Minecraft Meals hit restaurants on April 1 and sold out quickly. Diners ordering a Happy Meal these days will find a Squishmallow theme meal instead. But there’s more viral buzz about another McDonald’s product online. People are eagerly awaiting the return of Snack Wraps, a chicken-tortilla entree that’s been missing from US locations of the Golden Arches since 2020.

Read more: Review: McDonald’s Minecraft Meals Feature The Hottest Nugget Sauce Ever

On April 15, McDonald’s tweeted «snack wraps 0x.14.2025,» hinting the wraps would return on the 14th of an upcoming month. This leaves fans having to check their McDonald’s mobile app or local restaurant menus on the 14th of every month, hoping the wraps will make an appearance. The wraps didn’t appear in restaurants on May 14, so now fans must check again in June, and again in July if the June date does not pan out.

At least one Reddit users seems to think the McDonald’s Snack Wraps could return on July 14. One user wrote, «It’s July, I work for McDonald’s,they revealed the date on the employee app.»

But another person posted, «It’s not July. I work at McDonald’s corporate and can confirm.»

Neither of those posts can be confirmed.

June 14 is a Saturday, while July 14 is a Monday. Some suggest that McDonald’s would be more likely to launch a new product on a Monday than on a weekend, so if that’s true, July 14 could be the day.

A representative for McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

snack wraps 0x.14.2025

— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) April 15, 2025

Snack Wrap fever

Snack Wraps first came out in 2006, and were meant to be a chicken item that would appeal to drive-thru customers. There are different versions, but the basic one includes white-meat chicken strips known as McCrispy Strips wrapped in a flour tortilla with cheese and lettuce with either ranch, honey mustard or salsa. McCrispy Strips are a reworked version of a chicken item formerly known as Chicken Selects.

Zach Ciampa, who regularly covers new food releases under the social-media handle Snach With Zach, said there’s been an intense fanbase out there for the wraps. «Regarding McDonald’s Snack Wrap, it’s by far the most requested item I’ve ever seen my audience ask or demand to come back,» he told CNET. «Not just the most requested in recent memory, but the most requested of all time. And that’s not limited to McDonald’s.» Ciampa said the only similar fast-food items that come close to the same level of interest are Dairy Queen’s S’mores Blizzard and Taco Bell’s Caramel Apple Empanada, both of which also made recent returns.

«I’ve been covering food releases for years, and in that time, I’ve seen countless comments to the tune of ‘We don’t want this. We want the Snack Wrap,’ and, ‘Can you tell us when the Snack Wrap is coming back?'» he said. «A couple years ago, the chances of its return were pretty bleak. However, things escalated pretty quickly in late 2023 when McDonald’s did indeed announce that the Snack Wrap would return in a new form. Since then, details have slowly but surely trickled out, and the hype has steadily grown.»

While Snack Wraps left McDonald’s locations in the US back in 2020, they remained available at Canadian and UK restaurants. The current online McDonald’s Canada menu includes several tortilla-wrapped items, including ones with crispy chicken, grilled chicken, buffalo chicken and chicken with a sweet chili sauce.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 21, #240

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 240, for May 21.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition tried to fool players today by tossing in four coin words: quarter, dime, nickel and penny. Yet as longtime players know, that’s way too simple for a Connections puzzle — and this was indeed a trick. The four coin words all ended up in different groups. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Watch the clock.

Green group hint: Not offense.

Blue group hint: Nice throw!

Purple group hint: Fancy footwear.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sections of a game.

Green group: Football defensive terms.

Blue group: Words used to describe a good pass.

Purple group: Eponymous basketball shoes, minus the S

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sections of a game. The four answers are half, inning, period and quarter.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is football defensive terms. The four answers are 4-3, 46, nickel and prevent.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is words used to describe a good pass. The four answers are apple, assist, dime and dish.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is eponymous basketball shoes, minus the S. The four answers are Chuck, Jordan, LeBron and Penny.

Technologies

You Can Now Play Fortnite Again on iPhone and iPad

The long wait is over: Fortnite returns to Apple’s App Store in the US.

Fortnite is back on iPhone and iPad, as announced in its post today on X.

The game had been in and out of the Apple App Store multiple times over the years as its parent company, Epic Games, and Apple clashed over developer fees. But now, following a court ruling against Apple, the massively popular game can finally be downloaded again on iOS devices.

The US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on April 30 that Apple’s behavior toward web transactions was in bad faith and anticompetitive. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted about the ruling on X on the same day.

«For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds Apple in willful violation of this Court’s 2021 Injunction which issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing,» court documents read. «Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.»

Sweeney made the announcement of Fortnite’s return to iPhone and iPad shortly after the April 30 court ruling.

«We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week,» Sweeney wrote on X. «Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.»

Read more: The 15 Best PC Games Right Now

What will be new on Fortnite for iPhones?

In celebration of its iOS relaunch, Fortnite is rumored to be bringing back the Tart Tycoon skin. The monochrome cosmetic outfit was first released in 2020 and is meant to be a parody of Apple. Alongside the rare item, the Tart Tycoon Cup event is said to be returning.

Fortnite had been banned from iOS devices since 2020, when the flagship iOS device was the iPhone 11.

Why was Fortnite off the iPhone and why is it back now?

In 2021, Epic Games and Apple went to court. Apple largely won that court battle, but didn’t walk away unscathed. A federal judge also ordered Apple to remove its anti-steering barriers, meaning the company must allow apps downloaded from the App Store to steer customers to third-party means.

From the archives: Apple Scores Legal Win Over Epic in Fortnite Lawsuit

Apple appealed the decision later in 2021, with proceedings continuing through 2022 and into 2023. Apple eventually won the appeal. However, the court upheld its anti-steering ruling from 2021 in the process.

When Epic took Apple back to court in 2025, the company pointed out that Apple hadn’t complied with the original ruling in 2021. The judge agreed and is now forcing Apple to follow the rules to the letter. This includes not charging developers for non-App Store payment methods and allowing developers to tell people that such third-party options and platforms exist. The time frame is simple enough. Apple is to comply with these new rules immediately.

Epic Games also has lawsuits against Google and Samsung, seeking to achieve the same result for users of Google Play.