Americans tend to own several devices, many of which are out of date, according to new research. The demand for the latest technology is on the rise but as we replace old devices, we either leave them sitting around to gather dust or we chuck them in the trash. We don’t tend to take recycling electronics seriously.

According to research conducted by Staples, we Americans are a gadget happy people. While this is no surprise, our lack of care for our outdated devices is pretty unimpressive. Most Americans have several devices including a smartphone (70 percent), a laptop (76 percent), and a TV (92 percent). What’s more, a third of Americans own two or more smartphones, two laptops, and three or more TVs. This leaves too much used junk just sitting around the house.

According to the study:

[O]f those who have replaced gadgets in the past year, few recycled the old one (11%). In fact, more people threw their old gadgets in the trash (13%) than recycled them. People are also more likely to hoard devices because they don’t know what to do with them (16%,) than recycle them (11%).

What’s more, we Americans are vain about our tech gear. In all, 62 percent said they wanted brand new tech rather than the refurbished variety.

Do you stand in line to get the latest iPhone? And when your new smartphone becomes old news what do you do with it? According to researchers, “[s]martphone users were some of the worst recycling offenders: 36% of respondents have replaced their smartphone in the past year, but only 8% of those recycled their old one.”

But recycling electronics is easy. Here’s how:

• Turn your old phone back into your cell phone provider.
• Buy refurbished tech gear.
• Declutter your home of old tech junk by recycling it. Go to Earth911 to see where your old gadgets can easily be recycled.
• Empty data from old smartphones, laptops, and desktops and pass them on to a friend or someone in need.

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Despite valiant attempts to extend the life of our electronics, eventually they pass the point of no return and bite the dust. Environmental responsibility prevents us from dumping them in the trash to be carted off to the local landfill (thank goodness), but what do we do with them? The National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) has some answers.

NCER, an organization responsible for tracking such things, claims that “except for California, every [electronics recycling] program tracked by the NCER saw a per capita increase between 5 and 50 percent.” In other words, people appear willing to recycle old or broken answering machines, computers, printers, monitors, TVs, and so on if they know where to dump the stuff.

Many larger cities and towns have “e-cycling” programs in place with standard pick-up or drop-off times each month for residents who want to clean out the attic or garage of the wiry junk they’re not using. If your township doesn’t have a standing schedule, NCER still might be able to hook you up. Enter your zip code the homepage of its website to get the 411 on local recycling centers in your area.

To get a broader overview of the e-cycling process, click around the website and check out some of the links. For instance, there are two main ways to recycle electronics. The first involves manually dismantling each product and re-purposing the components whenever possible. Oddly, the second method is to simply shred them in a giant machine. Who knew?

Just about any type of electronic product can be recycled, but if it’s old cell phones you’re trying to get rid of there might be a better way than dropping off wherever old toasters go to die. Consider donating them to Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine to be updated, fixed, and given to victims of domestic abuse.

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