Dell will recycle your old electronics even if it didn't make them, which may be just the push you need to clear out that drawer/shelf/closet full of old laptops and half-broken monitors.
Dell's Global Recycling campaign is surprisingly simple: you go to Dell's site, put your information in to generate a shipping label (including what kind of electronics you're sending in), put said stuff in a box, then drop the labeled box off at your nearest FedEx mailing center. Perhaps it's not that big of a surprise, since Dell benefits from this deal by refurbishing some of the electronics and breaking down the rest for recyclable components, but it's still a much more agreeable arrangement than just leaving it to collect dust in your closet or a landfill.
In an interview with our pals at PC Gamer, Dell's head of sustainability Page Motes said the main goal of the program is to make sure Dell is doing its part as a massive electronic manufacturer "to prevent e-waste ending up in any location that it shouldn't end up."
"Number two, we want to make sure that we are able to have individuals and groups that might need access to electronics, and especially through that take-back programme, provide more and more programmes to make that happen," Motes added. "And then number three, it is easier to know where your materials are coming from. It is a more cost effective process. It is also lower carbon footprint, lower use of water, all kinds of climate benefits, to reuse as much of that material as possible."
Granted, the recycling process has a carbon footprint of its own as trucks, boats, and planes roll across the world to ferry old gear to its place of rebirth. We're still in the early days of grappling with our growing mountains of e-waste, though, and this sounds like a good start.
