Prototype Sony Product Take-Back Scheme Announced
by John Laumer, Philadelphia 
on 08.19.07
"Sony Electronics announced a new national recycling program for consumer electronics, called the Sony Take Back Recycling Program, which allows consumers to recycle all Sony-branded products for no fee at 75 Waste Management (WM) Recycle America eCycling drop-off centers throughout the U.S (PDF)."
We're calling it a prototype because the first 75 centers cover only a select few states.
Nice that "Sony and WM Recycle America are also working towards the goal of having enough drop-off locations in all 50 states so there is a recycling center within 20 miles of 95 percent of the U.S. population."
However, even if that 20-mile goal were reached tomorrow, we think it would be counter-productive, C02 emission-wise, to put that Walkman or TV in the family car for a 40 mile+ round-trip drive. Sony better get a more fuel efficient and convenient collection scheme together immediately, or this goes into the file where we put all the other corporate attempts to resist mandatory take-back programs by press release.
Because we try to keep a positive outlook, here's a suggestion for Sony. Try pulling in one or more of the private pick-up services like "Got Junk." These types of haul-off by appointment business are in a position to get a full load before heading down the highway. And they can come by appointment, making it far more convenient for consumers. Might be a good idea to use a life cycle inventory based emission tradeoff analysis for setting the pickup boundaries, too. Via:: DailyTech Image credit:: Ray Cox, art by Peter Nelson, St. Olaf College (2005).
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No one would drive 40+ miles to recycle a walkman, people would either save their e-recycling until they had a good amount or wait until the were in the area anyways. Blaming SONY of WM for the distance factor is idiocy as most people are not as stupid and gas-consuming as this author seems to think.
20 or 40 miles isn't that bad if you have a lot to recycle. Communities could join together of have somewhere local to drop off their Sony stuff and then someone can deliver it all in one go. We can't expect Sony to do all the work and pick up off your doorstep!
=== author's response follows ====
I agree with your notion. It is reasonable to expect that the recycling centers listed, as they are all maintained by WM, are the same recycling centers that trash disposal customers pay Waste Mgmt to haul their bottles and cans to from curbside. Why not special days for the recycling truck to pick up Sony or authorized electronics?
So, as you say, some systematic means of optimizing the chances of efficient delivery is well within reach for every one of these situations, and possibly, using the "Got Junk" services for even those at distance from the centers.
The problem is, without some more systematic means of efficient pickup, many individuals/communities will fall through the cracks. Curbside pickup of plastics does not work uniformly well across the nation: why would something much less systematic and convenient be expected to work better? At the very least they need to acknowledge in the press release that they have examined the alternatives and chose to leave it voluntary.
Yea, what the heck??? Even if someone took their H2 and drove 40 miles just to turn in a Walkman, it is a win. Why? Well, let's see:
One less toxic thing for the landfill.
One less bit of toxic waste to clean up a 100 years from now when the landfill starts leaching.
And I bet the embodied energy in that Walkman still equates to more BTU's/C02 than the 3 gallons of gas the H2 would burn in 40 miles. I know not all of it would be recouped by recycling, but even after that I bet its close.
Now, let's get real. Nobody with an H2 is going to do that. Nobody with a Prius is going to do that.
Typical scenario: drop-off is near a route they were already driving, so they add on a few miles to go there. Whatever they drop off, from a cordless phone to a 32" CRT TV, will only be a win for the environment.
Wow what do you know, yet another "it's not effing good enough post" It's a good step.
Great. Now the Grand High Master of proprietary protocols and accelerated planned obsolescence can dupe even more sheeple into buying and throwing out more products designed to sabotage more markets and build more waste. Hey - It's ok to spend more resources on plastics and electronics that hurt society because I'm recyling!
News flash for those ecologists who've not read new about the electronics industry over the last ten years: Sony primary business strategy is to sabotage technology standards so that they have more control over how quickly you have to throw out old hardware and buy new.
They take the view that if they can highly fragment their markets, then you will need to spend a higher portion of your income on electronic goods because you will need a separate device for every application and situation.
A side benefit of their strategy (from their point of view) is that users and smaller companies can not advance technology while sony controls standards, so they can restrain improvements in standard of living and efficiency to suit their development cycles and maximize sales even during in-house R&D slumps.
There is a reason so many people boycott sony: it's not just because they destroy technological progress, it's because they are destroying the earth in the process.
There is nothing that can make recycling 5 devices in 3 years as benign as simply buying the right device that will last more than 3 years in the first place.
PLEASE, do some research on sony's history of IP behaviour if you are considering one of their products.
It is important to note that the program also allows consumers to recycle other manufacturers' consumer electronic products. The intent of this program is to establish the first national consumer electronic recycling program.