August 27, 2012

iRecycle Mobile App Review from PaperlessKitchen

In my house, I have a box that I call the electronics graveyard. Sorting through its contents is like a course in the history of cell phones, media players and laptop computers. Each time I upgrade, I end up relegating my older electronics to the box, not wanting to throw them in the trash, but never knowing what else to do with them. When I talk to my friends, I hear tales of similar boxes, shelves and spots in garages and storage sheds filled with automotive products, leftover construction supplies and a host of other things that seem too useful to throw away.

iRecycle is an app designed to help you find facilities that will recycle those items in your own graveyard, making it easy to unclutter your life without adding to waste problems. Here's a rundown on this useful app from Earth911.com.

The Basics

- Available for any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad with iOS 4.0 or later and Android 2.1 and later models

- Free purchase from the Apple App Store and from Google Play

- Languages include English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian and Spanish

The Features

- Allows you to search for recycling centers for automotive parts, batteries, construction supplies, electronics, garden items, glass, hazardous materials, household items, metal, paint, paper and plastic. Under each category, there is a multitude of specific materials, so that you can find places that will take everything from asphalt to musical instruments.

- Uses your location to find the recycling centers closest to you and in most cases, tells you how many miles they are from your location.

- Provides detailed information about each center, including restrictions on drop-offs, if pickup is available and whether or not the organization is a nonprofit. Hours and contact information are also provided, and you can call a center or visit its website with just one click.

- Catalogs recent environmental news articles and green blog posts from a variety of online sources

The Takeaway

iRecycle really does make it easy to find places that will take all of those unwanted items that are cluttering your home. There are listings for things I never even thought about recycling like metal hangers. Using the app helped me discover recycling centers in my local area that I didn't even know existed. In minutes, I was able to find places that would accept everything in my electronics graveyard and use the center profile to plan when I'd visit to drop off my stuff.

The articles component for iRecycle is informative and good for finding things to read when you need to kill time before an appointment or when you're surfing the net at home. One problem I had with the articles section was that not all of the photographs displayed inside of the app, which made some DIY articles that relied heavily on pictures hard to enjoy.

Have you used iRecycle yet? Tell us your stories about what you recycled with the app.