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Computer Recycling Update

Some of the most difficult household products to recycle -- or even dispose of -- are electronics. Computers contain hundreds of different materials -- a few of them hazardous, and many of them recyclable. Green Clean details a few options for dealing with obsolete computers. Some compute makers, including Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM can recycle your machine, though some do so only when you buy a new one. GreenDisk is one independent company that accepts obsolete equipment.

The latest computer-recycling news comes from the State of Maryland. The Washington Post reports, "Starting next year, computer makers that want to do business in Maryland must kick in up to $5,000 annually to help recycle their products under a new state law designed to cope with the roughly 60,000 tons of "electronic waste" that pile up in Maryland each year.

The law, signed last month by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), affects only makers of desktop and laptop computers, including monitors, but it hints at expanding to include television sets in the near future.

Some of the country's largest computer makers helped shape the legislation and gave it the final nod, though many did so grudgingly. At least one of them, Hewlett-Packard Co., which has 20 percent of the U.S. market, has not decided if it will pass the cost on to consumers."

Posted by GreenClean at June 1, 2005 04:33 PM