I must confess that to me recycling has always been about raising some extra cash while doing good for the environment. It had never occurred to me that recycling as a goal unto itself can also feel blooming terrific!
When I first moved into this apartment in 2010, I bought a small microwave oven. It didn't cost much at the time, so I definitely didn't expect it to last it as long as it did.
Anyway, just before Christmas last year, it died. As in two big bangs and a horrible, burny smell. Fixing it would not have been worth it.
Fortunately, my mother had an old microwave that she could spare. There was something minor wrong with it as well, though, so they had to have it fixed before they could bring it to my place. It has double the capacity of my old oven - more geared to a small family than a single person - and I need to press buttons for it to work, and I'm grateful!
While I was waiting for this new old microwave oven to arrive, I was looking up "recycling" images online. There I came across an article that labeled microwave ovens as e-waste, in the same vein as cellphones and television screens. So then and there I decided to have my old oven properly disposed of, instead of merely putting it out with the trash (as my mom told me to!). So, this morning, my mom and stepdad took my old microwave oven to the same place where they had the other one fixed, for proper disposal. The glass plate is still in pristine condition, so maybe that will be salvaged. (To buy that new, costs a fortune!) Everything else, as far as I'm concerned, could be taken apart and salvaged.
And I kid you not, it felt really good! Decluttering is its own reward, any day of the week!
P.S. My mom later told me that because I donated my piece of junk, they got a decent discount on the repairs of their microwave oven. So maybe there was some merit in recycling this item, after all!