Electronic Kitchen Gadgets

My friend's coffee maker recently died. She wisely posted it on social media to see if anyone needed the coffee pot from it or any of the parts. If no one wanted it, however, she was going to throw it out. But with me as a friend, that could never happen. So I let her in on the secret of where to recycle small home appliances.

Well, it’s not a secret exactly. It’s London Drugs. They take back a variety of electronics for recycling and have since at least 2008. Our household has taken many things back to them: a dead toaster; a cordless beard trimmer that went for a swim (thanks to a certain toddler); even an old microwave from a stable where I used to ride. The best part? It costs nothing to drop it off. London Drugs offers the service as a way to give back to the communities they operate in, and as a great way to get people in their doors.

And as far as I’m concerned, this is a good thing. Our house currently has 16 small kitchen appliances (one of which has 5 conversion attachments, so it is really like having 19). That’s without us owning either a coffee maker or a microwave and it doesn't count all the ones that are people powered. (If you want to talk about why we North Americans have so many, we can get into a long discussion sometime about nuclear vs extended family living arrangements and modern consumeristic norms.)

Given the sheer number of small appliances that we have, another one is bound to quit on me sooner or later. (I keep waiting for my 1980’s popcorn maker to go, but it keeps on trucking). I think the next on the chopping block may be a hand-me-down hand mixer that’s getting unreliable. I’m glad to have somewhere to take it when it dies!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But Saskatchewan already has an electronics recycling program, why can’t I just take my appliances to SARCAN along with my dead TV?” The answer to that is, “you will be able to, just not yet.”  The Electronics Product Recycling Association (EPRA) that administers the program has not yet been legislated to take those materials, nor do you pay an electronic recycling fee when you buy them. But given that the British Colombia electronics recycling program (also run by EPRA) already takes them, it is simply a matter of time (as in years, don’t get too excited) until Saskatchewan takes them as well.

In the meantime, we must rely on the good will of retailers like London Drugs. Visit London Drugs website to learn more about what they recycle, and their many other green initiatives.