Oct 19 - ETBC Releases Green Electronics Recycling Report Card
Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC) released a electronics recycling report card that grades take back and recycling programs offered by computer, TV, printer and game console companies. Grades are out of a total of 100 possible points, and grading was done "on a curve." The grading system scores manufacturers on the volume of material collected, the scale and consumer-friendliness of their recycling infrastructure, their promotion of reuse, transparency and whether collected materials are processed responsibly.
The printer industry generally scored the lowest marks - all failed except for HP - as well as a few TV manufacturers like Funai (5th largest U.S. seller), RCA, and Philips.
According to Barbara Kyle, National Coordinator of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition:
If you don’t offer physical collection sites or events, you are not serious about your takeback program. With so many cheap consumer printers being practically disposable these days, the printer companies should be doing a lot more to make sure they get their old equipment back. Most of the printer companies simply offer mailback recycling programs, but statistics show that people won’t mail back larger products like printers.