Workers at an electronics recycling operation in Guangzhou, China, separate plastic, metals, and wires as they pull apart computers. (Credit: Jay Greene/CNET)
Staples has agreed to work with one of the most environmentally progressive electronic-waste recycling groups to handle gadgets from both the company and consumers when those devices die.
The retail giant announced a deal Monday, Earth Day, to use recyclers certified by e-Stewards, a program set up by the Seattle-based environmental group, the Basel Action Network, to handle materials collected from its free technology recycling program at more than 1,500 stores nationally. The company will also use e-Stewards-certified recyclers to handle electronic waste from its own internal operations.
One of the big problems with electronics disposal is that recycling old mobile phones, laptops, and other gadgets may not actually be the most environmentally sound practice. That might seem counter intuitive. After all, in the hierarchy of green living, reuse is preferable to recycling because it extends a product's life.
Read on at CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-57580786-54/staples-agrees-to-progressive-e-waste-standards/