Prototype Sony Product Take-Back Scheme Announced

Prototype Sony Product Take-Back Scheme Announced

"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).