Retail Recycling, the New Staple?

Staples Inc. is expanding its electronics waste recycling program in the U.S. and Canada by accepting used monitors, desktop and laptop computers of any make for a small fee; Peripherals such as keyboards, mice and speakers are taken in at no cost. This is an expansion of a four-year-old program where customers could drop off smaller devices such as cell phones, pagers and digital cameras at any retail location. The program benefits the environment because most e-waste is shipped overseas where it is broken down in poor countries through unregulated channels, releasing harmful toxins into the air and polluting the environment. Staples said its program will ship the devices for domestic recycling by Vestal, N.Y.-based Amandi Services, which Staples calls “one of the country’s most experienced and innovative electronics recyclers.” Amandi complies with federal standards for electronics recycling and will take steps to ensure personal data stored on old computers aren’t compromised, Staples says. Staples benefits from the program as it boosts customer traffic and helps their earth freindly image. The expanded program will make Staples the first national retailer to accept computers for recycling on a daily, ongoing basis, said Mark Buckley, Staples’ vice president of environmental affairs. more on this story… UsedCisco.com: Green Your Network…Reuse