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Dell is expanding its consumer electronics recycling program with Goodwill and its own tech trade-in operation, while the M&K Recovery Group says it harvested 15 percent more copperware from computer gear than it did in 2007. The companies detailed their latest activities on the e-cycling front in separate announcements yesterday. Such growth is welcome news in the drive to better manage tech waste. The U.S. is awash in used, broken and old consumer electronics -- from cell phones and laptops to televisions and sophisticated entertainment systems. The number of programs to recycle goods is increasing, but those efforts have yet to check the flow of gear that's discarded every day. Dell is expanding its consumer electronics recycling program with Goodwill and its own tech trade-in operation, while the M&K Recovery Group says it harvested 15 percent more copperware from computer gear than it did in 2007. The companies detailed their latest activities on the e-cycling front in separate announcements yesterday. Such growth is welcome news in the drive to better manage tech waste. The U.S. is awash in used, broken and old consumer electronics -- from cell phones and laptops to televisions and sophisticated entertainment systems. The number of programs to recycle goods is increasing, but those efforts have yet to check the flow of gear that's discarded every day.

The winter holidays are over, and brittle Christmas trees and empty champagne bottles aren't alone in many consumers' trash heaps. There are also used computers, televisions, cell phones and other gizmos that have been replaced with fancier models. Those piles may be somewhat larger than in recent years, thanks to the imminent U.S. government-mandated changeover from analog to digital television broadcasting. The switch, which is slated for February, has prompted many consumers to flock to retailers for new sets. American households have, on average, about 24 consumer electronics products, according the Consumer Electronics Association. The winter holidays are over, and brittle Christmas trees and empty champagne bottles aren't alone in many consumers' trash heaps. There are also used computers, televisions, cell phones and other gizmos that have been replaced with fancier models. Those piles may be somewhat larger than in recent years, thanks to the imminent U.S. government-mandated changeover from analog to digital television broadcasting. The switch, which is slated for February, has prompted many consumers to flock to retailers for new sets. American households have, on average, about 24 consumer electronics products, according the Consumer Electronics Association.

Technology is a trend that will never go out of date. Every day is a new day for technology - you find a newly launched tech-device turning into a craze or a new smartphone catching the consumer's eye. Due to this disrupted mindset of consumers and many other reasons, e-waste management has become a global issue. Find out some of the opportunities that lie in this problem.

All those new gizmos and gadgets gleefully pulled from beneath the Christmas tree are about to spur a high tide of household waste as piles of old gizmos and gadgets are discarded. By the time you dump in the usual remains of the holidays -- the packaging, wrapping paper, ribbons, stale fruitcakes and turkey carcasses -- daily household waste increases by more than 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, state pollution control officials say. Comment: Washington state has a new law effective January 1 which requires manufacturers of electronic items to accept and pay for recyling. Most large cities have a couple of designated sites where consumers can drop off tv's, phones, DVD players, etc at no charge. The law, passed a few years ago makes the manufacturers financially responsible. I'm sure that they have used this lead-in time to adjust the price of their products to cover the cost of recycling. Only time will tell if this method is successful. Whichever method is chosen for an area, the final cost will ultimately be borne by the consumer.Washington state has a new law effective January 1 which requires manufacturers of electronic items to accept and pay for recyling. Most large cities have a couple of designated sites where consumers can drop off tv's, phones, DVD players, etc at no charge. The law, passed a few years ago makes the manufacturers financially responsible. I'm sure that they have used this lead-in time to adjust the price of their products to cover the cost of recycling. Only time will tell if this method is successful. Whichever method is chosen for an area, the final cost will ultimately be borne by the consumer.

Scientific American, 7/17/09, article by Larry Greenemeier. Most people assume that their trash ends up in a landfill somewhere far away (if they think about this at all). But growing concern over the environmental impact of waste-discarded electronics, in particular-has prompted a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to take a high-tech approach to studying exactly what people are tossing out and where those items are ending up. The researchers, part of MIT's Senseable City Lab, have developed electronic tags that they're hoping as many as 3,000 volunteers in Seattle and New York City will affix to different items they throw away this summer as part of the Trash Track program. These tags will contact cell phone towers they pass as they flow through the trash stream to their final destinations, helping the researchers monitor the patterns and costs of urban disposal.

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It's Christmas morning, and there beneath the tree was your new television, sleek and digital. Or maybe it was a new computer. Or the newest electronic gee-whiz gadget. All well and good, but what are you going to do with the old equipment it replaces? Most people - about 88 percent according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - simply toss so-called e-waste into the trash. Given the heavy metals and other toxic substances such equipment contains, that's obviously a bad idea, says the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a national consortium of environmental and consumer groups. But, in some cases, doing the seemingly responsible thing - hauling outmoded equipment to a recycler - is as bad as junking it, warned Barbara Kyle, the group's national coordinator. Often, she said, "recycled" electronics are shipped to processors in developing countries, who use primitive techniques to extract valuable metals.

With all the hoopla surrounding Apple's announcements about the iPhone 3G S and its subsequent release on June 19th, many might have forgotten about another key date coming up just as fast.

Notebook computer sales outpaced desktop PC sales for the first time last quarter, according to research firm iSuppli. Worldwide, PC companies shipped 38.6 million notebook computers in Q3, up almost 40% year-over-year. Desktop PC shipments grew 1.3% year-over-year to 38.5 million units.

Time to buy new electronics? Don't just leave your old electronics stashed in the back of your closet or garage. Waiting and storing them for a long time would depreciate their value. So, the best and safest way is to resell them to an authentic recycling center. This action would not only help save the environment from pollution and hazardous chemicals from e-waste but can also put some extra money in your pocket. To be sure you are getting a good deal, it is better to follow some smart solutions listed here. A little know how can fund your next smart upgrade!

Everything has its season, and recycling interest is no different. Maybe it's because everyone is trying to make room in their houses after the holiday gifts pour in. Or maybe it's some sort of New Year's resolution. Or just because everyone is issuing press releases tied to the Consumer Electronics Show in that famous town of excess, Las Vegas.

Consumers are increasingly demanding better environmental attributes in their digital gadgets, but the consumer electronics industry can go a lot further to make gadgets "green." Environmental watchdog Greenpeace held a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday to announce results of its second annual survey called "Green Electronics: the Search Continues." Consumers are increasingly demanding better environmental attributes in their digital gadgets, but the consumer electronics industry can go a lot further to make gadgets "green." Environmental watchdog Greenpeace held a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday to announce results of its second annual survey called "Green Electronics: the Search Continues."

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