Starting in the early 1990s, HP began to design products with the environment in mind. Last July, HP reached its goal of recycling more than 1 billion pounds of electronics and print cartridges around the world.

Now, the company is accelerating its efforts with a goal of doubling its annual recovery rate to reach 2 billion pounds by the end of 2010. “This past year alone, HP recycled nearly 250 million pounds and reused more than 65 million pounds of products worldwide,” St. Denis says.

Dell

Dell has offered recycling services for business customers for more than a decade. In 2003, the company began offering consumer recycling, and in 2006, it committed to worldwide free consumer recycling. The program has been very successful: In 2006, Dell recovered about 78 million pounds of used equipment from customers, an increase of about 90 percent from the previous year, says Bryant Hilton, a Dell spokesman.

Currently, Dell is on track to meet its goal of recovering 250 million pounds of used computer equipment from customers by the end of 2009. Because the goal is continually evaluated, expanded and refined, the company reports its progress and its new goals annually in its “sustainability report.”

The Dell recycling program is unique because it offers free in-home pickup for consumers who want to recycle e-waste. “We will recycle any Dell-branded equipment for free at any time and recycle other brands for free with the purchase of new Dell equipment,” Hilton says. “A customer simply comes to our Web site, indicates what equipment they have for recycling, and they can print a shipping label. They pack the old equipment and we will pick it up from their home. All equipment is responsibly recycled by a Dell-authorized recycling partner.”

Dell's paid services for business customers work in much the same way, but include additional “value add” components, Hilton says. “We can help customers recover, refurbish and resell used equipment, returning 90 percent of the resulting proceeds to the customer,” he says. “And, we can come to the customer's site to pack the equipment and transport it to an authorized recycler. These customers receive reports of asset destruction and data destruction for their records.”

In addition to the pick-up programs that are available worldwide, in some U.S. markets, Dell also has an alliance with Goodwill Industries called Reconnect, which provides free recycling of any brand of used computer equipment to any consumer. Consumers simply drop off the equipment at Goodwill intake centers; Goodwill staff sorts and consolidates the equipment; and a Dell-authorized recycler manages recycling. Any proceeds from equipment resale are returned to Goodwill for investment in its job training efforts.

“The program is showing enormous potential and both Goodwill and Dell have a long-term vision of making it available nationally,” Hilton says. Currently, the program is available in some markets in Texas and California, across Michigan and New Jersey, throughout parts of North Carolina, as well as in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Toledo, Ohio. In addition, Dell has a partnership with the National Cristina Foundation that facilitates the donation of used computer systems to non-profits. This program also is free for customers to encourage reuse of computers.

According to Hilton, Dell says it has a responsibility to offer recycling programs for the products it makes and sells, and customers have a real need for responsible recycling options.

“By removing the cost barrier to computer recycling, we will help raise recycling rates,” Hilton says. “We are working to raise the awareness of the importance of responsible recycling with customers every day through various touch points.”

Nancy Mann Jackson is a Florence, Ala.-based contributing writer.