SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Apple is moving to USB-C power cords. What you can do with the old Lightning cables.

Apple’s finally killing off its proprietary Lightning charging cord for new iPhones and SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centerreplacing it with the universal standard USB-C. 

Anyone who remembers dongle-gate, when Apple switched from the old 30-pin dock cables to Lightning in 2012, might roll their eyes at yet another change. But this will be good for us and the planet, eventually, because you’ll only have to carry around one cable, not an entire tangle of them. 

We have a few hurdles to get over first, though. Right now, you charge pretty much all your gadgets with a USB-C connector, including iPads, MacBooks, gaming devices, headphones, etc. You only need a Lightning cable for iPhones and AirPods. 

Starting with the latest iPhone 15 and AirPod Pro 2nd generation to launch this week, though, Apple’s not making separate Lightning connectors anymore. This change comes after new European regulations cracked down on e-waste and mandated a common charger for mobile devices by 2024.

Can I still use my old Lightning cable?

You don't have to do anything different if you’re using an iPhone or AirPods that use a lightning connector. No, you don’t need Apple’s $29 USB-C to Lightning adaptor.

When it comes time to upgrade to a new iPhone, you’ll need one sleek universal USB-C cable. The good news is you likely already have a couple USB-C cables because it’s industry standard on most other gadgets these days.

But you still have a bit of an issue − what will you do with all those old cords when you’re done with them? If you think, “toss ‘em in the trash,” remember, E-waste is a huge issue, not just for the U.S. but for the entire planet.

Why are lightning cables so bad?

A few years ago, Apple execs argued that ditching Lightning connectors would create "an unprecedented volume of electronic waste.” While Lightning connectors alone don’t pose a massive threat to the environment, the overall amount of e-waste sure does. 

According to environmental awareness site Roundup.org, only 17% of e-waste gets recycled worldwide. Many of these unrecycled electronics sit in our junk drawers, but some end up in landfills, where they leech toxic elements like lead, mercury, and cadmium into the soil and groundwater.

The truth is many of our dead electronics contain useful and valuable metals that we should reuse, like gold, silver, copper, and iron. 

Now that Apple has changed its tune and replaced its charging connection, the company is a great place to take old chargers and cables. No, they don’t pay you for them, but saving the planet comes with its own rewards. 

To Apple’s credit, the company has been “a leader in scraping off rare earth metals from its reuse pile to recover these expensive materials,” Marian Chertow, a professor of industrial environmental management at the Yale School of the Environment, told CNN. 

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How do you recycle lightning cables?

How should you dispose of that useless nest of old cables you’ve been squirreling away in your ‘cords’ box? And for that matter, how are you going to get rid of that old iPhone you’ve been holding onto for no particular reason since 2009?

I’ve written about some ways, but here are new options to help free up some junk drawer space without contributing to the landfill.

Use your local e-waste recycling center. Many cities have dedicated electronics recycling centers, and most states have maps telling where they are. If you live in CA, for example, the state has a mapping tool on its website that allows you to search for nearby recycling centers. Washington State’s Department of Ecology also has an excellent recycling center mapping tool for their Eco-Cycle Washington program, which is entirely free. You can also check Call2Recycle to find a place to take old gadgets near your home.

Find a nearbyBest Buy store. At most Best Buy stores, you can recycle up to three items per household daily (see categories on its website for state-specific info and different limitations on TVs, computer monitors, and laptops). Plus, haul-away options are available for more oversized items in your home. Some of the recycling has fees attached, but these are generally bigger objects like desktop monitors and TVs. Just bring batteries, cords, and old phones into the store and recycle them for free.  Don’t live near a Best Buy? You can mail them your e-waste. They also have a tool that allows you to calculate whether or not your electronics still have value for trade-in.

Check outRidwell’s recycling program. Ridwell is a relatively new weekly service for items that can’t go into traditional recycling centers. (If they aren’t in your town yet, they likely will be soon.) The logistics of it are pretty simple. Ridwell drops off a ‘Ridwell box’ with bags specifically labeled for items like “batteries,” “lightbulbs,” “textiles,” “electronics” or “soft plastics.”  On pickup day, you bring that box to the curb, and they scoop up whatever you’ve discarded.

On their site, you can also find what all that discarded material has been recycled into. Your old plastic bags? They are decking now. Your old batteries? They are new batteries now.

One note on battery recycling, in general. Used batteries can spark. This is less common with AA or AAA, but that dead 9-Volt battery from your fire alarm in your junk drawer might actually cause a fire. Make sure to tape off the ends of your 9-V batteries before you ditch them.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech columnist and on-air correspondent. The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected].