Think about any toy you’ve had that moves, lights up, or makes noise. Maybe it’s a remote-controlled race car or a robotic dog. What happens to those toys after you no longer want to play with them? There’s a good chance they end up in the trash.

Any toy with a plug or battery is an electronic toy, or “e-toy.” People worldwide threw away more than 7 billion e-toys in 2022. That’s according to electronic-waste experts. All that trash is causing big problems for the planet. 

Why do so many e-toys get thrown in the garbage? Many people don’t realize they can recycle them. Plus, recycling e-toys isn’t always easy to do. 

“You’re not supposed to throw them away in your regular garbage,” says Callie Babbitt. She studies the problem of electronic waste. “You can’t recycle e-toys by throwing them in the recycling bin outside your house either.”

But Babbitt and others are spreading the word about how you can recycle old e-toys.

Think about your toys. Do any of them move, light up, or make noise? Maybe it’s a remote-controlled race car. Or maybe it’s a robotic dog. What happens to those toys after you stop wanting to play with them? There’s a good chance they end up in the trash.

Any toy with a plug or battery is an electronic toy, or “e-toy.” People around the world threw away more than 7 billion e-toys in 2022. That’s according to electronic-waste experts. All that trash is causing big problems for the planet. 

Why do so many e-toys become garbage? Many people don’t realize they can recycle them. Plus, recycling e-toys isn’t always easy to do. 

“You’re not supposed to throw them away in your regular garbage,” says Callie Babbitt. She studies the problem of electronic waste. “You can’t recycle e-toys by throwing them in the recycling bin outside your house either.”

But Babbitt and others are spreading the word about how you can recycle old e-toys.

People use a lot of electronics each day. Phones, tablets, and TVs are just a few examples. Americans throw out more than 7 million tons of electronics each year. That’s enough to fill 400,000 garbage trucks!

E-toys are one part of this problem. Most of them end up in landfills. Those are huge areas where trash is dumped or buried. That half-eaten sandwich you threw away last week? It’s probably in a landfill. Your old sneakers are likely there too. 

Trash in landfills can take a long time to decompose. For example, some experts say plastic bottles could take hundreds of years to break down. 

Electronics may stick around for even longer—more than 1 million years! Over time, the chemicals inside e-toys can get into the soil and water. That can put people and wildlife at risk of getting sick.

What’s more, most e-toys contain important metals, like gold and copper. When e-toys aren’t recycled, those metals go to waste.

People use a lot of electronics each day. These include phones, tablets, and TVs. Americans throw out more than 7 million tons of electronics each year. That’s enough to fill 400,000 garbage trucks!

E-toys are one part of this problem. Most of them go to landfills. Landfills are huge areas where trash is dumped. The food you threw away last week? It’s probably in a landfill. Your old sneakers are likely there too. 

Trash in landfills can take a long time to decompose. For example, plastic bottles could take hundreds of years to break down. 

Electronics may stick around for even longer. Maybe even more than 1 million years! Over time, the chemicals inside e-toys can get into the soil and water. That could make people and wildlife sick. 

What’s more, most e-toys contain important metals. These include gold and copper. When e-toys aren’t recycled, those metals are wasted.

So why don’t more e-toys get recycled? One big reason is that many people don’t know they should be recycling them. That’s partly because of a lack of regulations. 

In the U.S., laws require people to recycle certain items, like paper and plastic. If they put recyclables in the regular trash, they may have to pay a fine. But there are no laws about recycling e-toys. As a result, many recycling centers don’t accept them. 

Also, it’s much harder to recycle e-toys than other items. Some e-toys are glued or screwed together. That makes it difficult to get to the parts inside. Plus, some e-toys are made of many types of materials. For example, a robotic stuffed animal could have a plastic head and a cloth body. Each material must be recycled separately. That takes a lot of time and money.

So why don’t more e-toys get recycled? There’s one big reason. Many people don’t know they should be recycling them. That’s partly because of a lack of regulations. 

In the U.S., laws require people to recycle certain items. These include paper and plastic. If they put recyclables in the regular trash, they may have to pay a fine. But there are no laws about recycling e-toys. Many recycling centers don’t accept them. 

Also, it’s harder to recycle e-toys than other items. Some e-toys are glued or screwed together. So it’s hard to get to the parts inside. Plus, some e-toys are made of many different materials. For example, think about a robotic stuffed animal. It could have a plastic head and a cloth body. Each material must be recycled separately. That takes a lot of time and money.

The good news is that there are ways to keep e-toys from ending up in the trash. Babbitt suggests giving old e-toys away. You could donate them to a local charity. Or offer them to a neighbor or relative.

You could also look online for an electronics recycling center near you. Ask an adult to help you. It may take some work. But it’ll be worth it to protect the planet.

But there’s good news. There are ways to keep e-toys from ending up in the trash. Babbitt suggests giving old e-toys away. You could donate them to a local charity. Or offer them to a relative.

You could also look for an electronics recycling center near you. Ask an adult to help you. It may take some work. But it’ll be worth it to protect the planet.