Texas Campaign for the Environment: News
MEDIA RELEASE: September 2, 2008
TCE Statement on Start Up of Computer TakeBack Recycling Law
Why doesn’t your town need to recycle computers anymore? Because the computer makers have to recycle them now.
Six years ago, environmental activists and Dell were in a public brawl over computer recycling. Activists were plotting to make Michael Dell look bad at a national electronics trade show by dressing in black and white striped prison outfits to dramatize that Dell was then using prison labor in its recycling program. Activists had used glue guns to put computer parts, keyboard letters and old CDs on clothing and held an electronic waste fashion show outside the designer dress shop owned by Michael Dell’s wife.
But in 2004, Dell publicly announced that it would start recycling its old products. Last year, Dell joined with recycling advocates and local governments in Texas to push for a state law to require all computer-makers to take back and recycle their old desktops, laptops and monitors.
That new law went into full effect yesterday.
No longer will cities and counties and tax-payers have to foot the bill to recycle these electronics. They can spend their money on libraries, streets, police and fire and the other core jobs of local government.
Dell, HP and the other companies have a level playing field. They all have to provide consumers with free and convenient recycling options. Now they will all be competing on how easily their products can be recycled, in addition to how efficiently they manufacture and market their goods. They have a reason to design out the toxic components. These big companies now have their reputations on the line to provide responsible convenient recycling.
Recycling advocates want you Texans to tell us if this producer takeback recycling is working for you. We’ve set up a website: www.TexasTakeBack.com so you get the information you need to try it out. It’s time to get that old computer or monitor out of the closet. Find out about the recycling program for that equipment’s brand. Then you can also use the website to tell us if the company’s recycling system worked for you or not.
Our hope is that everybody wins when electronic waste has to meet its maker.
Click here for Press Release with quotes from other speakers.
