TV's, Cell Phones, and Computers Are A Big Waste (Problem)

I had my old computer gathering dust for a couple of years. It was of absolutely no use. The programs were not compatible with the ones on my new laptop, and I didn't have a use for the screen. So what was I waiting for?  

   I was waiting to hear when the county was going to have their next recycling event. Today was the day, and from the look of the longgg   line of cars at the New Castle County Government Center in New Castle, (it was a 45 minute wait to get to the front of the line), a lot of people had the same idea. There were computer monitors, ancient TV's, flat screen TV's, and who knows how many cell phones and PDA's.  We were all trying to be responsible citizens. Even though you can still put electronics in with your trash, some components of these electronic devices may contain pieces that if improperly handled could be harmful to the environment. Certain components may contain small amounts of lead, silver, barium, cadmium, and mercury. Many of these metals can be recovered and recycled by de-manufacturing and recycling of electronic devices.

So I went on YouTube to see how to remove the hard drive and destroy it (my neighbor told me to put a big magnet on it). I didn't go as far as one YouTuber did and blow torch it, but I gave it a few hammer blows after the magnet thing.  Can't have anyone copying my ancient data!  And I hope they won't ship this stuff to China where women and children work at taking electronics apart and exposing themselves to poisons!