Here in St. Pete,
it is kind of a hassle to get rid of old computers and monitors. You have to wait for hazardous materials disposal events in various communities, or you can pay $5 to $15 to an office supply store to take your worn-out junk.
Now, Best Buy, the big electronics store,
is trying out a new electronics recycling program.
The AP says the experiment rolls out in 117 stores in eight states:
Best Buy agreed to set up the recycling trial after a social responsibility group, As You Sow, submitted a proposal that would have asked the company's shareholders to endorse an electronics recycling program. As You Sow withdrew the proposal after Best Buy indicated it was already exploring ways to expand its existing recycling programs.
"This is a step in the right direction," said Conrad MacKerron, director of As You Sow's corporate social responsibility program. He is hoping Best Buy's recycling trial will prompt other major electronics retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Circuit City Stores Inc. to set up similar programs.
The disposal of electronics waste has become a more prevalent problem in recent years as technology's relentless advances turn cutting-edge devices into relics every few years.
That has threatened to create environmental headaches because the old stuff contains lead and other hazardous materials that aren't supposed to be put in the trash.
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