Last year’s 60 Minutes exposé on electronic waste (also known as e-waste) recyclers may have sparked some corporations, including Costco Wholesalers and Apple, to fill the void of “responsible” electronics recyclers. A recent story in The New York Times also discussed the burgeoning recycled electronics field in light of the conversion to digital television signals.

Through the end of August, Apple’s Education arm will recycle old electronics. From their website, “Apple will recycle your school’s old, unwanted Mac computers, PCs, and qualifying peripherals from any manufacturer—for free. There’s no purchase required, and all accredited K-12 and higher education institutions with at least 25 pieces of recyclables are eligible to participate.” In order to qualify, schools must register by July 31, 2009.

All products must be packaged according to the instructions and collected by August 31, 2009. Remember, you must recycle a minimum of 25 pieces in order to participate.

In addition to the 25 pieces, we accept all brands of the following equipment: computers, monitors, laptops, printers, fax machines, scanners, desktop-size copy machines, CD drives, hard drives, TVs, VCRs, projectors, overhead projectors, networking equipment, cables, keyboards, and mice.

Costco Wholesale Corporation is now partnering with Gazelle, an online recycler of electronics. According to their website, Gazelle’s purpose “and our promise [is] to provide a practical, rewarding way for people to finally rid themselves of all those old cell phones, digital cameras, and gaming systems that they no longer use, but can’t seem to find a way to let go of.” Gazelle does not just recycle though, they “believe that reuse should always come first.” They have branded their approach as “ReCommerce”. Costco’s Gazelle partnership is open to individuals and will also accept a wide range of electronics. One other distinct difference between Gazelle and Apple’s program is that Costco and Gazelle will pay for certain consumer electronics that are more desirable, such as iPods and GPS units.

Both Costco and Apple have positioned themselves as leaders in the green economy. Apple’s green products (profiled here) have set a standard for reducing toxic chemicals. In the opening pages of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart discuss the toxicity of today’s computers and the health risks they pose. Costco was mentioned in Peter Senge’s Necessary Revolution, because it “has become a leader in prototyping healthy food supply chains through their work with Sustainable Food Laboratory.”

- Eric Wilson

[image source: Best Buy]