recycling
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Like lambs to the slaughterhouse: Nokia 6010, Motorola RAZR nab most-recycled titles
While it's cool that owners of the venerable Nokia 6010 and Motorola RAZR are forward-thinking enough to be recycling their unwanted, ancient handsets en masse, we've actually got a question for Nokia and Moto here: is this a title you're proud of? Seems like a double-edged sword since your models are getting tossed by the thousands, but hey, at least they're being tossed in an ethical way. Phone recycling firm ReCellular reports that the 6010 and the V3 (along with LG's VX4500) are the most commonly-recycled handsets of the moment -- pretty amazing when you think that the original RAZR was $500 on contract when it first launched, and now it's getting scrapped for traces of precious metal. How the mighty have fallen, eh?
Sony's Green Glove recycling service hauls away your old TV when buying a BRAVIA
Apparently launching its Take Back Recycling Program just wasn't enough for Sony Electronics, who has now announced a Green Glove delivery service for those looking to have a new 32-inch (or greater) BRAVIA HDTV delivered. At its core, the service provides in-home delivery and setup of one's new HDTV, and the same kind folks who show up to handle that also haul away your old set for recycling. Or to sell it on eBay, you never know.[Via I4U News, image courtesy of CtrlAltDel-Online]
Video: China's wasteland of toxic consumer electronics revealed
Any self-respecting gadget hound knows that China is responsible for packing millions of shipping containers with the consumer electronics we crave. What you may not know is what we ship in return: our waste for recycling. Of growing concern is e-waste, resulting from the deluge of PCs, cellphones, televisions and crapgadgets we churn through at an accelerating clip each year. While domestic recycling programs are good-intentioned, often the most toxic of our e-waste is shipped illegally back to China and boiled down for its precious metals under some of the most crude conditions you can imagine. When faced with the choice of familial poverty or the slow accumulation of poison in their bloodstream (for $8 per day), it's not hard to imagine what many rural Chinese people will choose. So while we give Greenpeace's self-congratulatory promotions and oft-subjective "Guide to Greener Electronics" company ratings the occasional hard time, their attempts to raise e-waste awareness are commendable. Now go ahead, check the video from 60 Minutes' intrepid reporters after the break and let the guilt wash over you. Update: As noted by reader Jason, a more thorough (and disturbing) exploration of these e-waste dumps can be found in a Current TV video shot last year in the same region.
Apple products announced today: It's easier being green
Apple made a concerted effort today to highlight the reduced impact its new products have on the environment. This effort all started with Steve Jobs' open letter in 2007, A Greener Apple, announcing a long-term plan to "protect the environment and make our business more sustainable." The letter was released partly in response to a Greenpeace campaign, encouraging Apple to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals in its products and improve its recycling programs. Today, the star of the show was Apple's new "unibody," a single, complex chassis for new MacBook and MacBook Pro units fabricated from a single brick of aluminum. In a video posted on its website, Apple noted that as a result of the new fabrication process, fewer parts in the laptop means a reduction in weight, size, and the amount of other material necessary to hold the device together.
Apple recycling information mailer not so green
An Apple Premium reseller in the UK sent us these photos of an Apple recycling information mailer they received: but the mailer itself was sent in a decidedly non-green way. From photos the reseller sent, it appears the mailer consisted of two sheets of standard A4-sized paper. Those sheets of paper were placed inside a large, yellow clasp envelope. That envelope was then placed inside a corrugated cardboard box. The box was then mailed to the UK from Switzerland. While all of these materials are recyclable, it seems like a little bit of a waste to send what could have fit in an everyday DL-sized envelope (that's about the size of a number 10 envelope for us Americans) in ridiculously oversized packaging. Plus, it probably would have saved them a bundle on postage. Apple has been making a concerted effort to reduce its environmental footprint: not only with the program mentioned in this mailer, but for everything from iPhone packaging to how it makes its displays. Surely this isolated incident isn't representative of the company as a whole, but still. Sheesh. %Gallery-30043%
Best Buy offers up free electronics recycling in 117 stores
Best Buy already gladly accepts cellphones, batteries, ink cartridges and other items for recycling, but it looks like you can now offload some of your larger, unwanted electronics gear free of charge as well -- if you near one of the 117 stores in the Baltimore, San Francisco, and Minnesota areas that are participating in the company's new test program, that is. According to the company, those stores will now accepting up to two items per day, per household, including televisions and monitors up to 32-inches, computers, cameras and other devices not including microwaves, air conditioners. or appliances. There's no word on any future plans for expansion of the program just yet, with Best Buy only going so far as to say that it'll "evaluate the success of the test and determine options for scaling it across the U.S." Of course, there's also plenty of other recycling options available if you don't want to wait for Best Buy to make up its mind.
The US Postal Service wants your useless junk
The US Postal Service may soon become very relevant to a generation which seems increasingly disinterested in physical mail. The USPS is launching a pilot program in ten cities and 1,500 post offices which hopes to aid in the fight against electronic waste. Come rain, sleet, snow, or any other violent natural occurrence, the post office will now allow you to mail used printer ink cartridges, PDAs, MP3 players, and other small electronics to Clover -- a company which recycles the castoff hunks of metal and plastic -- free of charge. You can feel pretty good about utilizing the new service too, as Clover is a "zero landfill" company, which means they do everything they can to avoid making more waste. Now, if the postal service can just do something about these old TVs that need hauling...
Nokia's "Remade" concept is all waste -- no, seriously
Nokia's been putting quite a focus on contributing to a greener, healthier world as of late -- still running off the high of winning Greenpeace's praise, perhaps -- and its latest concept, unveiled at MWC, takes the commitment to an extreme. The "Remade" phone is exactly that: a handset made entirely of recycled stuff. The case and keypad are fashioned from tossed cans, for example, and apparently, even the electrical components (never mind that the Remade can't actually place a call in its current incarnation) are entirely reused. No plans have been revealed to produce the Remade or anything quite like it, but the way Nokia's going -- and the way we're throwing away tin cans -- we wouldn't be surprised if it happened down the road.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck to make a bunch of press kits?
%Gallery-14791%In the press room at Macworld there was a little foyer with alphabetized buckets where you could pick up press kits from the various vendors. This is an exercise in wastefulness, as many of the press kits are glossy folders filled with photocopies and CD's.Now, I realize the coordination required to put all this on a single DVD or USB drive would be immense, so I'm not blaming Macworld/IDG here, but surely there's got to be a better way. I've made a gallery of the leftover press releases, CD's and cases I was left with-- and I didn't even take everything! I also had to discard all the covering folders for what I did grab, because I didn't want to pay $60 extra for the additional weight in my luggage (no kidding, it was like an extra 10 lbs. of junk). Sadly, that stuff got trashed in my hotel room, and I'm sure it didn't get recycled. Maybe next year the dream of a "paperless" Macworld can be realized...
TechForward and NEW sparking trend of gadget buyback services
It's no secret that gadget aficionados like ourselves have mounds of kit that was hot stuff in its heyday, but figuring out what to do with it once its prime has passed is still a mystery to some. 'Course, the entrepreneurs in the crowd simply offer their previously loved wares up to the world via eBay (or similar), but for those lacking the time / motivation to do so, rest assured, companies are on the prowl to totally take advantage of you. TechForward and NEW are two firms that are looking to make a mint from entering the gadget buyback realm, and as you'd probably expect, the cash doled out to suckers individuals who bite on this is woefully less than market value -- but then again, it's ultra-convenient, shipping is free and it's guaranteed, hassle-free money. Sounds like the pawn shop just got with the times, eh?[Image courtesy of PlanoPawnShop]
Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba form recycling partnership
We surprisingly haven't heard a ton about green(er) tech at this year's CES, but there's still some news going down -- and Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba have just announced that they've formed a new joint venture, the sexily named Electronics Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, to handle collection and recycling of their products in the US. MRM seems to have formed in response to some new stringent regulations recently passed in Minnesota, as well as similar regs that are about to go on the books in Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, but the idea is to provide recycling programs to state and local governments and other manufacturers -- and to that end, MRM already has deals with Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Philips, Pioneer, Sanyo, and Syntax-Brillian. MRM's managed to collect and handle 750 tons of old gear in its first five months in Minnesota, a feat the company credits to its strategy of making electronics disposal convenient to consumers -- sounds like an idea whose time has come.
Recycl-o-sort: not a part of foreplay, but still very important
Even casual fans of Jemaine Clement could appreciate the Recycl-o-sort -- after all, it's hard to deny the vitalness of sorting out the recycling. In that spirit, a team of MIT students concocted a prototype that automatically sifts through recyclables and deposits them into the appropriate bin depending on makeup. The sun-powered device is currently being tested in Boston's Codman Square area as part of Family, Inc.'s recycling awareness campaign, and it reportedly uses a "turntable" to pass each item through a trio of sensors to determine whether it's aluminum, plastic, glass or just plain rubbish. Call us crazy, but this whole thing just brings back memories of that team building exercise we did back in '99.[Via Core77]
Sony offering $100 off BRAVIAs for your unwanted television
Promotions like this are far from revolutionary, but with piles of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes about to consume any remaining free space in your home, we figured you may as well get $100 back for that ancient TV sitting on the junk pile. Effectively immediately, anyone that drops off an old television for recycling (locations listed here) will receive a $100 coupon towards the purchase of a BRAVIA HDTV. Unfortunately, the coupon is only valid at Sony Style stores, at SonyStyle.com or through Sony's telesales office, and any non-Sony dropped off will lower the coupon's value by "$25 - $50." So yeah, we appreciate the effort here, but the terms and conditions aren't exactly the most desirable.
How green is Apple?
Is Apple a "green" company? Today is Blog Action Day, where 15,000 blogs are publishing posts about the environment. I have always thought of Apple having an eye towards the environment, but perhaps I think this is because I remember Apple eschewing extra paper on their boxes way back in the early days. You see, to get optimal 4-color print on a shipping box you have to wrap that box in an additional layer of glossy paper. For a while, Apple was content to ship the monochrome brown box with black ink, thus saving trees and ink. The original Mac boxes were white, but didn't use the glossy stuff.A year ago you may remember Apple being taken to task regarding their recycling efforts. In fact, Apple has been taken to task on their computer take back program, their packaging and now the scary hazardous chemicals in the iPhone. Shock, horror! Yes, it is obvious Apple is determined to coat the Earth in a fine sheen of clear plastic, aluminum and bromiated compounds. Evil I tells ya, evil.In their defense, Al Gore is on the board. OK, they have more than just Al. Steve Jobs issued a statement just a few months ago for a greener Apple. Naturally, there are still plenty of skeptics, but the site Green My Apple provides constructive criticism and a fairly healthy outlook for the future. Apple appears to have listened! Of course, they could just hire the Professor and make iPhones from coconuts, right? Given the fact that consumer electronics is about as un-green an industry as you can get, it'll be a very long road indeed before everyone is happy. Then again, as we know too well, there's no way to make everyone happy. The hope is that Apple will continue to innovate with "green" in mind. Not the back of the mind, but right up there in front where it'll do the most good.
Recycle your junk into a DS accessory
One of the more fun, crafty trends that has come up in DS fan culture is the homemade DS case. Clever fans are always looking for unusual materials from which they can make cute DS Lite cases. The results are often eye-catching and whimsical, and, on occasion, turn out to be useful as well. The crafters save money on materials, and waste less not only by not buying a new DS case (with disposable packaging) but by opting not to throw away something that has outlived its original usefulness.We're going to look at some of the recycled-material DS cases we've featured in the past, as well as a couple that we haven't. Then, finally, we'll present our own craft project, which is more on the 'silly' end of the DS case spectrum. It totally holds a DS, though!
Recycle your old Sony consoles, Sony requests
If you've still got that off-white, sorta gray UFO-looking thing known as the original PlayStation, what're you thinking? Sony's got a great program going on to help you get rid of that junk and trade it in for ... peace of mind. Isn't that enough? You've got to think green! There are 75 official Sony recycling centers around the country (they partnered with Waste Management, Inc., so we're guessing those recycling centers and Sony's are one in the same) and each of them want to give your old products a second life.It's a cool program, but right now, the recycling centers seem arbitrarily distributed: 17 in California, 19 in Minnesota, 1 in New York and 32 states missing them completely. Sony intends to have doubled the number next year and assures us they plan to have a center "within 20 miles of 95% of the US population". If they can do that, good for them. So, how many of us are sitting on nearly-dead consoles of the past? We know our PS2 is still kickin', but barely.[Via Joystiq]
Sony to establish nationwide recycling network
Sony today announced intentions to begin a national recycling program for your various unwanted or unloved electronics, imaginatively called the "Sony Take Back Recycling Program," which will begin on September 15th with 75 "eCycling" points around the country. The electronics manufacturer has partnered with Waste Management as part of the trash hauler's "Recycle America" program, and says that it hopes to grow its drop-off locations to 150 by year's end, with a spot in every state. 1.5 to 1.9 million tons of electronic waste went into landfills in 2005, and Sony hopes to curb those numbers by offering "end-of-life solutions," for products they produce. The company will also accept recyclables from other manufacturers for a fee, proving once again that Sony is only in it for the money. Just kidding.
HP launches environmentally friendly rp5700 slim desktop PC
As the green trend looms ever larger over the consumer electronics industry, HP is taking full advantage of the opportunity by unveiling the environmentally friendly rp5700 slim desktop PC. The company toots its own horn by boasting about the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold award that the machine has garnered, and we'd assume that building it from 95-percent recyclable components and packing it in a box made from at least 25-percent post-consumer recycled cardboard had something to do with it. Additionally, the unit sports an uber-efficient power supply and comes with "an optional solar renewable energy source" to extract juice from the sun. As for hardware, you'll find Intel Core 2 Duo chips up to 2.13GHz, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, SATA hard drives as large as 250GB, optional RAID 1 setups, and your choice of operating system. Of course, the EPEAT Gold-certified machine steps it down to a Celeron 440 CPU with 512MB of RAM, and while this particular configuration will start at $817, other options are available today from $648 right on up.[Via Slashgear]
Corporations finding green in going green
A select few have already discovered just how lucrative going green can be, but for mega-corps around the globe, this year's Earth Day was just as much about earning green as it was recycling. While throngs of companies have already instituted programs to recollect and recycle customer's obsolete gear, outfits are now looking for easy money in selling scrap material, used plastics, hardware components, and "refurbished PCs," all while tooting their own horn and eliciting a good bit of positive PR love along the way. According to IDC analysts, the global demand for such junk unusual treasures is on the rise, making it easier for companies such as Dell, Apple, and Sony to flip the returned hardware for extra cash. Furthermore, some say that these in-your-face recycling programs could even entice users to scrap their current PCs faster than they otherwise would, which could also lead to more business with said companies as they plunk down for yet another computer that they honestly didn't need. Sure, the motives behind going green in the tech industry could be swaying, but as long as hardware retirement and disposal is being handled in an environmentally-friendly way, we suppose there's not much room to repine.
Recycled 45 rpm records as iPod cases
Environmental website Grist writes about a new site that sells iPod cases made from recycled 45 rpm records. For $45, you can choose your favorite record from a page of used records, and have your case custom made from your selection. Yes, it's a little on the pricey side, but it's a nice way to green your music. Grist describes it as using the "old media" to protect the "new media". Cute.
