Comments on: Just how much tech junk is getting recycled?

Office Depot says it recycled about 1.5 million pounds of tech junk last year. How does that stack up against other company-sponsored recycling programs?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Ah yes, 'recycling'. For many of the big OEM's, the term 'recycling' means paying a third party company to come haul the stuff away. What that third party company does with it isn't quite clear, and often explains why so much of these 'recycled' OEM products show up in third world countries dumped out, burned for the gold content and contaminating the environment in a horrible ewaste scenario.

Unless you can trace the goods from pickup to final recycling and re-use, then it's just lip service.

[fokkwp]

Exactly right, Vegaman_Dan. It's not whether x or y recycles or "takes back" - but what that recycling entails. Are they grinding it up and remanufacturing it? or selling it off to China where villagers in flip-flops tread mountains of the stuff, and roast circuit boards over charcoal and in chemicals by hand to remove precious metals. And dump the massive toxic residues in their own streams and land, desperate for the money.

Landfill can be and often is a much preferable alternative to this very widespread kind of "recycling."

[HollywoodGeek]

Don't forget Goodwill takes all electronics, working or not, for free. They repair or recycle.

[biffhenerson]

Let it pile up in landfills. Create jobs for the future. Our landfills will become valuable and need to be mined to get the goodies out. Lol.

[tcraighenry]

Like Goodwill, Portland, OR based Freegeek does electronics recycling. Are there other similar groups worldwide?