A Guide to Recycling Electronics

There are a growing number of recycling opportunities for consumers to take advantage of in regard to old electronic equipment such as computers, televisions, and cell phones. Most people do not know how to dispose of these unwanted items. This article summarizes several recycling programs from major retail outlets and manufacturers which provide a way for you to dispose of these items properly. Some of the recycling programs are free and others charge a fee.

Apple (free)

Apple offers free recycling of any computer with the purchase of a Mac. They offer free recycling of any manufacturer's cell phone as well as the company's iPOD by mail. You can also drop off your old iPod or cell phone at your local Apple retail store for 10% off the price of a new one. To get all details, visit www.apple.com/environment/recycling.

Call to Protect Program - (free)

Call to protect is a program that collects cell phones that are given to victims of domestic violence to use in emergencies. Non-working phones are collected for recycling. For additional information, visit www.wirelessfoundation.org/calltoprotect/index.cfm. This is a worthwhile program that raises funds from recycling to help end partner domestic violence.

Best Buy - (free)

At any retail Best Buy location, you can turn in all brands of cell phones, printer cartridges and rechargeable batteries for recycling. Look for their display in the front entrance.

Dell Recycling - (free)

Dell offers free recycling for Dell brand electronic products. Visit www.dell4me.com/recycling. If you purchase a Dell desktop or laptop and choose the recycling option at the same time, Dell will take your old computer to recycle regardless of the brand.

Lexmark - (free for toner and ink cartridges, consumer pays shipping on printers)

Lexmark accepts their brand of printers for free, except the consumer must make the arrangements and pay for the shipping. Spent Lexmark toner and ink jet cartridges may be returned for free using postage-paid envelopes through the Cartridge Collection Program. You can call 859-232-3022 or visit www.lexmark.com/recycle for more information.

GreenDisk - (for a fee)

GreenDisk offers a way to recycle a variety of unwanted electronics including computers, diskettes, zip disks, CDs, DVDs, video tapes, audio tapes, game cartridges and other types of computer tapes. A complete list of items is available at www.greendisk.com/pop-ups/items-to-dispose-of.html. GreenDisk will also destroy your old data (to military standards), salvage reusable components and recycle the rest. The service you need may be selected online and range from $6.95 to $49.95. Visit www.greendisk.com or call 1-800-305-3475 for all of the details.

Doing our part to dispose of electronics responsibly will help keep our environment clean.

Sources: embedded under each heading