Toshiba Makes e-Cycling Easier with Expanded Recycling Program
by Jaymi Heimbuch, Central Coast, California on 10. 6.08
Photo via Jason Bain
Toshiba is catching on to what a lot of other electronics manufacturers already know: free recycling programs of electronics are a good thing for the company, the consumer, and the environment.
They’ve given the concept a nod by expanding their free recycling program beyond just laptops, and it now includes many consumer electronics, regardless of the brand. Not only that, they're offering cash for usable gadgets.
Toshiba’s program expansion now includes some elements that should be “duh” steps for any electronics manufacturer. Old school programs usually provided a “perk” of accepting a customer’s old gadget after they purchased a product from the company. But Toshiba now accepts junker gadgets and e-waste for recycling without requiring the user purchase a Toshiba product. Finger snaps. Dell was already on to this a couple years ago.
Really, e-cycling should be a free part of any electronics company or installation service, though some still charge.
Qualifying items include: laptops, Tablet PCs, monitors, projectors, cameras, camcorders, servers, home audio receivers, cell phones, car audio, home electronics, auto electronics, mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, game systems and GPS navigation systems.
As an awesome piece of the program, if your gadget still has usable life in it, Toshiba offers a buy-back option, so customers can get a little cash for their old stuff.
The expansion also gives a boost to Toshiba by making it now the most comprehensive trade-in program in the industry.
“The growth of Toshiba’s free recycling program is a reflection of the company’s dedication to promoting responsible disposal of hazardous waste,” said Jeff Barney, general manager and vice president, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “Recycling items regardless of the manufacturer is a natural step for Toshiba, considering the value we place on environmental responsibility.”
Via EON
More on e-Cycling Programs:
Dell Raises the Bar on Computer Recycling
Apple Recycles iPods, Computers, All Brands of Cell Phones
Recycle E-Waste Without Leaving Home Using Zip Express Installations
New Website Helps Companies Attain Their States’ Recycling Requirements
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Good to see Toshiba upping the ante on e-cycling - the more competition there is to be the greenest tech company the better the whole industry will be...
Question of course what happens with the recycled stuff.
As mentioned in this blog, Flanders (Belgium) is a self claimed recycling champ. That isn’t a token of green consciousness though. Recycling waste is just a matter of making money and one goes far with that principle.
But dismantling the goods and stripping wires is a labour intensive and dangerous jobs. So what does one do with them? One sells the goods to countries like India, China, etc. where one isn’t so fussy environmental wise when it comes to money. I’m certain that you’ve seen the images of underpaid people are dumping everything in chemical baths in order to separate the valuable from the garbage and dump the latter. All this in degrading situations where people nor the environment aren’t protected.
I just checked out the trade-in website and it seems almost too good to be true. For a limited time, you also get a $25 Starbucks gift card, even if the item you send in has no resale value and will be recycled.
The one downside is that it appears to only be available in the U.S. Does anyone know if this program is also available in Canada? I tried searching for it, but did not find anything.