How to Dispose of a Broken Pair of Earbuds
On Amazon, a pair of headphones from the manufacturer HiFiMan cost $ 2,250. According to reviews, of which 28 are assumed to be buyers, one commenter said his pair had broken and that he would no longer buy another pair. (His review mentions that this is his second kit from the company.)
Last week, we wrote about how to dispose of valuable electronic waste such as old Xbox and Playstation game consoles. If your headphones stop working, and even the workshop cannot come to the rescue, it is important to dispose of them correctly; Headphones, like consoles, are difficult to dispose of because they need to be taken apart for reuse.
Before you throw away your old headphones, which may or may not cost thousands of dollars, research your options to avoid exacerbating the problem of e-waste.
Send them to a facility that will recycle them.
Usually, headphones are made up of three components, including speakers (which often contain magnets), a shroud that covers those speakers, and a cord. According to Recycle Nation , depending on the specific brand and model, there may be aluminum or copper wires around the ears, as well as foam or rubber. Meanwhile, Airpods and their cases are mostly made of various types of plastic and metal.
If you have non-working headphones, first of all, before you send them for disposal yourself, you need to consult with the manufacturer. They can accept them and turn in a pair on your behalf. (Apple, for example, will recycle your broken Airpods and other Apple products.) It’s also a good idea to check with the manufacturer if your headphones are still under warranty. it won’t fix your garbage problem, but at least you’ll get a replacement pair for free.
If your manufacturer does not offer a recycling program, look for information about your nearest large drawer retailer. For example, Best Buy stores accept used headphones for recycling (or exchange if they are still working). Look for recycling kiosks right in the store, or simply contact support if you can’t find one.
If not, use the Earth 911 finder locator to locate nearby e-waste disposal sites. Search for “Audio Equipment”, your zip code, and results for nearby properties appear. The trip to the site may not be worth buying one pair of headphones, so this will be a good opportunity to collect other electronics that you also want to recycle. (You might have a broken game console or a pair of speakers taking up too much space in your living room.)
If not, send the headphones to a recycling program such as JLab Audio ; just enter your email address, fill out the form, submit your headphones or earbuds and they’ll rework them on your behalf. They’ll also send you a code to get 30% off any new earbuds you order on their website.
How to maintain the quality of your headphones
If your pair of earbuds is in last place and is only glued with duct tape, there are a few things you can do to extend their lifespan (and avoid buying a new pair over and over again).
As Gizmodo writes , you should take basic precautions, such as avoiding temperatures that are too hot or cold, or yanking out the cable to remove them – pull the end instead. Also, do not immerse them in liquids and keep them away from places with high humidity.
And how you store them is also important. “The easiest way to extend the life of your headphones is to wrap them properly,” u / n00bcrusher wrote on Reddit . “About 90% of our headphones stop working because we wrap them incorrectly and the wire inside just splits in half.”
As this video from Verge demonstrates, so that the headphones don’t get tangled and stop working, stretch out three fingers and wrap the cord around them; towards the end of the wire, start winding it in the middle so that it does not loosen. (When you’re done, it should look like a bow.)
And if you think your earbuds might be worth scrapping, find an electronics store that can repair them, although that may cost more than replacing them, depending on your pair.
Instead, if you have the opportunity, buy good headphones like Sennheiser or Sony headphones from any other brand, instead of the cheap ones you can find at the drugstore; you may end up spending more on replacing those cheap earbuds. But don’t buy a pair that costs $ 2,250. It’s just dumb.