Technologies

How to Recycle Your Old Phones and Appliances for Free

Whether you’re tossing out an obsolete phone or a larger appliance like a washing machine, you have a few sustainable options.

If you’ve just upgraded a gadget, it might be tempting to shove the old one into a corner or toss it into a junk drawer. But what should you do once the e-waste starts piling up? Where do you go to dispose of your outdated tech?

Just because you don’t need your old phones and appliances doesn’t mean you should condemn them to your in-home gadget graveyard — or worse, the garbage. We all hang onto outdated tech for our own reasons, but there are also multiple ways to repurpose old devices for your smart home, using them as security cameras and more. Depending on the age and condition of your phone, you might even be able to get some cash back for it.

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.

Before recycling your device, do this first

If you’re going to get rid of an old smartphone, make sure its data has been properly wiped before you sell or donate it. Back up anything you want off the device — photos, videos, songs — and then perform a factory reset.

Where to recycle phones and appliances

Here are the best places to recycle, repurpose or give new life to your old technology. Some locations will take not only small devices such as phones, but also large appliances such as washing machines and exercise bikes.

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 such as 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 and 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 and GPS devices.

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 haul-away options, driver pickup and pallet pickup, and 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, 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 more than 25 companies’ take-back program summaries, including Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic and Sony.

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 cameras, computers, DVD and VHS players, iPads, iPhones, keyboards, mice, monitors, printers, smartphones and TVs.

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 Apple Watches, cell phones, iPads, iPhones, iPods, MacBooks, smartphones and tablets, and batteries attached or installed in devices.

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 (brand, model, memory, carrier and condition) before generating a quote. From there, you can visit one of the organization’s kiosks at Dollar General, Kroger and Walmart.

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

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: Digital cameras, iPhones, iPods, Palm Pilots, PDAs, wireless cell phones and corresponding batteries, and wireless pagers.

Call2Recycle

Call2Recycle is a battery-focused recycling program. The organization offers drop-off options at Home Depot, Lowe’s and Staples, and 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 such as Lithium Ion, Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Metal Hydride, Nickel Zinc and Small Sealed Lead Acid weighing up to 11 pounds. Call2Recycle also accepts single-use batteries such as 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), the right way to recycle plastic and the dos and don’ts of recycling metal cans.

Technologies

Kohler Wants to Put a Tiny Camera in Your Toilet and Analyze the Contents

The company’s new Dekoda toilet accessory is like a little bathroom detective.

Some smart litter boxes can monitor our pets’ habits and health, so having a camera in our human toilet bowls seems inevitable. That’s just what kitchen and bathroom fixture company Kohler has done for its new health and wellness brand, Kohler Health.

The $599 Dekoda clamps over the rim like a toilet bowl cleaner, pointing an optical sensor at your excretions and secretions. It then analyzes the images to detect any blood and reviews your gut health and hydration status. Depending on the plan you choose, the subscription fee is between $70 and $156 per year.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

At toilet time, you sign in via a fingerprint sensor so that the device knows who’s using the facilities. (Please wash your hands before signing out or tracking your progress.) Then, check in with the app for the day’s analysis and trends over time.

Wait until you’re off the pot, though, before you start doomscrolling your health. The device has a removable, rechargeable battery and uses a USB connection.

Kohler says it secures your data via the aforementioned fingerprint scanner and end-to-end encryption, and notes that the camera uses «discreet optics,» looking only at the results, not your body parts.

«Dekoda’s sensors see down into your toilet and nowhere else,» the company says.

Kohler warns that the technology doesn’t work very well with dark toilet colors, which makes sense. I’m sure there could be an upsell model with a light on it. Maybe the company could add an olfactory sensor, since smell reveals a lot about your gut health too. It could track «session» length or buildup under the rim to alert whoever has responsibility to clean it.

Kohler must have been straining to find appropriate lifestyle photos to include with the publicity materials. Many of the images are hilarious, featuring fit-looking men and women drinking water and staring off into space contemplatively — probably thinking about gas.

Technologies

Who’s Up to Fight Mega-Corporations in the Outer Worlds 2 on Xbox Game Pass?

Save the universe by fighting one CEO at a time in The Outer Worlds 2, plus play other great games coming to Xbox Game Pass in October.

Space is the final frontier, and it’s packed with some devious mega-corporations who are out to make a buck in The Outer Worlds 2. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can fight them in the highly anticipated sequel starting on Oct. 29.

Xbox Game Pass offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, smart TV and PC or mobile device, with prices starting at $10 a month. While all Game Pass tiers offer you a library of games, Game Pass Ultimate ($30 a month) gives you access to the most games, as well as Day 1 games, like Hollow Knight: Silksong, added monthly.

Here are all the games subscribers can play on Game Pass soon. You can also check out other games the company added to the service in October, including Ninja Gaiden 4.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

PowerWash Simulator 2

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 23.

If you’ve ever spent hours watching people on YouTube clean dirty rugs, cars and other grimy objects, you should check out PowerWash Simulator 2. As the name suggests, this sequel is all about blasting away dirt and filth from pools, homes and other objects around town. You have a furry kitty companion, and yes, you can pet them when you’ve finished cleaning.

Bounty Star

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 23.

The American Southwest has devolved into a lawless, post-apocalyptic desert called the Red Expanse in this game. You’re out to clean the place up in this game by taking down major bounties issued by the government, and the best way to do that is by piloting and customizing a giant mech, of course. When you want to nurse your wounds, head back to your run-down garage to rest, grow and cook food and raise animals. It’s like a cozy Armored Core game.

Super Fantasy Kingdom (game preview)

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 24.

After returning from a hunting trip, you find your 8-bit kingdom wrecked in this game. You must rebuild your domain in this roguelite, city builder. But as night falls, hordes of monsters emerge to tear everything back down. Build, mine, cook and grow your home, and prepare to defend it from all dangers.

Halls of Torment

Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 28.

Get ready to descend into the deadly Halls of Torment in this retro, horde survival game. You can choose between 11 playable characters, each with their own playstyle, and equip various items and abilities to survive waves of enemies. This game is like Vampire Survivors, so if you like that game give this one a shot.

The Outer Worlds 2

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 29.

Clear your calendar for this sequel to the award-winning sci-fi adventure, The Outer Worlds. This time, you’re an Earth Directorate agent investigating the cause of devastating rifts that could destroy humanity. You have a new ship, new crew, new enemies and mega-corporation goons standing between you and the answers.

1000xResist

Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Nov. 4.

One thousand years in the future, humanity is hanging on by a thread after a disease spread by alien occupation forces people to live underground in this sci-fi adventure game. You play as Watcher, and you fulfill your duties well, until one day you make a shocking discovery. This game won a Peabody Award in 2024, and it was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing that same year, so get ready for a story like no other.

Football Manager 26

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 29.

Get ready for a more immersive matchday experience in the latest installment of the Football Manager franchise. You can build a star-studded squad with new transfer tools, and this entry features official Premier League licenses and women’s football for the first time in the series’ history.

Game Pass subscribers can play the standard or Console edition of this game.

Games leaving Game Pass on Oct. 31

While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass, it’s also removing three others from the service on Oct. 31. So you still have some time to finish your campaign and any side quests before you have to buy these games separately.

Jusant
Metal Slug Tactics
Return to Monkey Island

For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now and check out our hands-on review of the gaming service. You can also learn about recent changes to the Game Pass service.

Technologies

Does Charging Your Phone Overnight Damage the Battery? We Asked the Experts

Modern smartphones are protected against overcharging, but heat and use habits can still degrade your battery over time.

Plugging your phone in before you head to bed might seem like second nature. That way by the time your alarms go off in the morning, your phone has a full charge and is ready to help you conquer your day. However, over time, your battery will start to degrade. So is keeping your phone plugged in overnight doing damage to the battery?

The short answer is no. Keeping your phone plugged in all the time won’t ruin your battery. Modern smartphones are built with smart charging systems that cut off or taper power once they’re full, preventing the kind of «overcharging damage» that was common in older devices. So if you’re leaving your iPhone or Android on the charger overnight, you can relax.

That said, «won’t ruin your battery» doesn’t mean it has no effect. Batteries naturally degrade with age and use, and how you charge plays a role in how fast that happens. Keeping a phone perpetually at 100% can add extra stress on the battery, especially when paired with heat, which is the real enemy of longevity.

Understanding when this matters (and when it doesn’t) can help you make small changes to extend your phone’s lifespan.

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The science behind battery wear

Battery health isn’t just about how many times you charge your phone. It’s about how it manages voltage, temperature and maintenance. Lithium-ion batteries age fastest when they’re exposed to extreme levels: 0% and 100%.

Keeping them near full charge for long stretches puts additional voltage stress on the cathode and electrolyte. That’s why many devices use «trickle charging» or temporarily pause at 100%, topping up only when needed.

Still, the biggest threat isn’t overcharging — it’s heat. When your phone is plugged in and running demanding apps, it produces heat that accelerates chemical wear inside the battery. If you’re gaming, streaming or charging on a hot day, that extra warmth does far more harm than leaving the cable plugged in overnight.

Apple’s take

Apple’s battery guide describes lithium-ion batteries as «consumable components» that naturally lose capacity over time. To slow that decline, iPhones use Optimized Battery Charging, which learns your daily routine and pauses charging at about 80% until just before you typically unplug, reducing time spent at high voltage.

Apple also advises keeping devices between 0 to 35 degrees Celsius (32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit) and removing certain cases while charging to improve heat dissipation. You can read more on Apple’s official battery support page.

What Samsung (and other Android makers) do

Samsung offers a similar feature called Battery Protect, found in One UI’s battery and device care settings. When enabled, it caps charging at 85%, which helps reduce stress during long charging sessions.

Other Android makers like Google, OnePlus and Xiaomi include comparable options — often called Adaptive Charging, Optimized Charging or Battery Care — that dynamically slow power delivery or limit charge based on your habits. These systems make it safe to leave your phone plugged in for extended periods without fear of overcharging.

When constant charging can hurt

Even with these safeguards, some conditions can accelerate battery wear. As mentioned before, the most common culprit is high temperature. Even for a short period of time, leaving your phone charging in direct sunlight, in a car or under a pillow can push temperatures into unsafe zones.

Heavy use while charging, like gaming or 4K video editing, can also cause temperature spikes that degrade the battery faster. And cheap, uncertified cables or adapters may deliver unstable current that stresses cells. If your battery is already several years old, it’s naturally more sensitive to this kind of strain.

How to charge smarter

You don’t need to overhaul your habits but a few tweaks can help your battery age gracefully.

Start by turning on your phone’s built-in optimization tools: Optimized Battery Charging on iPhones, Battery Protect on Samsung devices and Adaptive Charging on Google Pixels. These systems learn your routine and adjust charging speed so your phone isn’t sitting at 100% all night.

Keep your phone cool while charging. According to Apple, phone batteries perform best between 62 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 22 degrees Celsius). If your phone feels hot, remove its case or move it to a better-ventilated or shaded spot. Avoid tossing it under a pillow or too close to other electronics, like your laptop, and skip wireless chargers that trap heat overnight.

Use quality chargers and cables from your phone’s manufacturer or trusted brands. Those cheap «fast-charge» kits you find online often deliver inconsistent current, which can cause long-term issues.

Finally, don’t obsess over topping off. It’s perfectly fine to plug in your phone during the day for short bursts. Lithium-ion batteries actually prefer frequent, shallow charges rather than deep, full cycles. You don’t need to keep it between 20% and 80% all the time, but just avoid extremes when possible.

The bottom line

Keeping your phone plugged in overnight or on your desk all day won’t destroy its battery. That’s a leftover myth from a different era of tech. Modern phones are smart enough to protect themselves, and features like Optimized Battery Charging or Battery Protect do most of the heavy lifting for you.

Still, no battery lasts forever. The best way to slow the inevitable is to manage heat, use quality chargers and let your phone’s software do its job. Think of it less as «babying» your battery and more as charging with intention. A few mindful habits today can keep your phone running strong for years.