E-bay bid to recycle old PCs.


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EBay unfurled an initiative Thursday to lead PC makers and environmental groups in a major push to recycle more of the 400 million electronic products that are trashed annually.
So-called e-waste containing hazardous materials is "piling up faster than ever before" with increased potential harm, eBay CEO Meg Whitman says.

EBay plans to promote the program on its site at www.ebay.com/rethink, where consumers can resell, recycle or donate used electronics. The announcement came at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

EBay stands to gain, of course. As more PCs are recycled, consumers are more likely to buy and sell computers on its site. The company sells used computer gear worth $2.5 billion each year.

Still, the program is a significant step for the tech industry, which has ignored the problem of disposing of toxic computer parts for years, says Ted Smith, senior strategist for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

"There is a growing awareness of the magnitude of the problem, and we'd rather have an industry-driven solution than a government one," Intel CEO Craig Barrett says. The No. 1 chipmaker will help create advertising campaigns promoting reuse and recycling of computers. "EBay is a powerful way to spread the message" to its 125 million users, Barrett says.

The online auctioneer also is partnering with IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Apple Computer, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and UPS, among others. Each offers Web links with information about their recycling programs.

"We should have a system that makes it as easy to get rid of an old computer as it is to buy a new one. I applaud all of them," says Kate Krebs, executive director of the non-profit National Recycling Coalition. "In most households, computers are thrown out, handed down to kids or end up in the garage."

An estimated 133,000 PCs are replaced or discarded in the USA each day, says market researcher Gartner. And only 10% of unwanted PCs are recycled, according to GrassRoots Recycling Network.


Article submitted by: Redhot_2oo3
Last Update: 01-07-2005
Category: News

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