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PC Makers, Critics Join EBay Recycle Push
 01/06/2005 LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Online auction company eBay Inc. on Thursday unveiled an initiative to join personal computer makers and their environmental critics in an effort to recycle more of the up to 400 million electronic products that are thrown out every year. EBay plans to promote the program on its site at http://www.ebay.com/rethink, where consumers can go to resell, recycle or donate used electronics. EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said that while information technology companies have created "some pretty innovative programs, I think we need to do more" to recycle electronic gear. She was speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest U.S. technology trade fair of the year, where manufacturers from around the world debut new products. Together with Intel Corp., the world's top maker of the chips used to power personal computers, EBay has signed up top PC makers and computer distributors, along with leading industry environmental critics. Ted Smith, leader of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and a frequent critic of the computer industry's track record on recycling, said that eBay's willingness to act as a neutral broker was crucial to winning his group's support. "They've got 120 million people coming to their site," Smith said. "That's the key number here." "We want to drive business to local recyclers. They are the good guys in this equation," Smith said of his hopes for the project. Initial backers of the eBay Rethink program include Intel, computer makers Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Apple Computer and Gateway, distributors Ingram Micro, United Parcel Service and the United States Postal Service. Environmental critics backing the effort include the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and Texas Campaign for the Environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also signed up. One key player was missing: Dell Inc., the world's largest maker of PCs, which has been a target of environmental campaigners who want to force the company to take a more active role in recycling obsolete computers. Whitman held out the possibility that Dell would eventually join the coalition. "They (Dell) have not said no," Whitman said. "That's the good news. They just haven't said yes." "We are still evaluating it," Bryant Hilton, Dell's spokesman for environmental programs, said later by phone. A key issue is to raise consumer awareness of the issues involved. "This program certainly hits the nail on the head," Hilton said. On its own site, Dell offers free computer and printer recycling with the purchase of new Dell equipment. Anyone looking to have an old computer picked up, whether or not they buy a replacement, can do so for a nominal fee to cover shipping, Hilton said. Whitman said others in the consumer electronics industry would be invited to join the initial program. Only 10 percent of unwanted PCs are recycled, according to the Grass Roots Recycling Network. Half of U.S. families admit to having an old PC in the closet, according to a survey conducted by eBay. An eBay spokesman said some 1.2 million used computers are already sold on the company's online marketplace each year. EBay sells $2.5 billion worth of computers and an equal amount of consumer electronics each year. News Archive | |
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