Down to Earth Blog

Kudos to HP:  Today I received and installed a new imaging drum and printer cartridge for my HP laser printer. I was happy to find out that I can use the boxes these parts came in to send the old parts back to HP for reuse or recycling. They pay for it, too, with pre-printed shipping labels.

According the their Web site, HP's goal is to recycle 1 billion pounds of equipment and supplies by the end of 2007. Their record to date:

What happens to the stuff HP recycles?  "Materials are ... processed into their raw forms so they can be used in automotive parts, microchip processing trays, serving trays, spools, hangers and other everyday products. "

I think this is awesome and I hope more companies consider doing it, so that when we buy new things the old things don't automatically end up in the dump.

Want to find out how to recycle almost anything in your area?  Check out Earth911.org, which will provide resources for your ZIP code.  An electronics industry group has a reuse and recycling site here, http://www.eiae.org/.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a serious issue. Last July, I had as a guest blogger Elizabeth Grossman, author of 'High Tech Trash', who convincingly wrote about the seriousness of the issue and the need to educate Americans about how to recycle computers and other electronics. Her book notes that Americans own over two billion pieces of high-tech electronics, from cell phones to computers to televisions. What happens when we throw them away?

What do you think?  Do you recycle your printer cartridges and used computers?  Post your thoughts here.

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this