Recycling at Staples

Last March, I wrote something about UPS Recycling and one place you can recycle it is at Staples. I received a comment from one of the readers that you need to bring a printout of the APC announcement to be able to avail the free UPS or battery recycling at Staples. They used to charge $10 per piece and the free recycling promotion ends on September 30, 2009.

I went to a local Staples store last week and found out that they also have recycling bins for cellphones, pager, handhelds and plastic bags.

Cellphone, pager or handheld recycling bin

Plastic bag recycling bin

While at Staples, you can also check out their reusable bags. Here's what it looks like.

Recycling at Best Buy

I dropped by Best Buy last weekend to get a copy of Wall-E for my kids. I accidentally saw that they have a recycling bin near their door. Best Buy accepts several items for recycling - Cellphones, PDAs, Pagers, Compact Discs, Inkjet cartridges, Used Gift Cards and Rechargeable batteries. According to their sign, a portion of the proceeds are donated to charity.
If you do not have the recyclable item with you, you can bring home a postage-paid bag and use it to send your recyclable item.
Below are the bags that Best Buy provides for Inkjet and Cellphone recycling. Since it's already postage-paid, just put your recyclable item in it, drop it in the mail and you don't have to pay for anything.


(Disclaimer: I am not an employee of Best Buy and I do not own any of their shares. The details above are for informational purposes only.)

Cellphone Recycling - T-Mobile

We recently upgraded our cellphone through our service provider (T-Mobile). Included with the package are envelopes (shown below) for cellphone recycling or eCycling (electronic recycling).

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, "Recycling cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions, keeps valuable material out of landfills and incinerators, and conserves natural resources. Recycling just a million cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368 cars off the road for a year."

Here's an informative video about cellphone recycling.

If you have no other use for your old cellphone, you can either drop it off at eCycling stations or mail it in at no cost to you. For more details about the drop off center locations or where to mail them, please visit the US EPA website.

eScrip

We got this from our son's school - eScrip Recycling. From their website and as shown on the package mailer, they accept ink and toner cartridges, cell phones, laptops and Ipods. Part of what they earn on recycling is given to the school or any group having the program.

It's a good way to raise money for the school and the children will benefit on whatever the school buys with the raised money from the program.