Dell Recycles 150 Million Pounds of E-Waste in FY ‘11 (with related video)

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell recycled approximately 150 million pounds of e-waste during the company’s fiscal year 2011, the computer manufacturer announced Monday. The total represents a 16 percent increase over fiscal year 2010, according to Dell.

The computer manufacturer has set a goal of diverting a total of 1 billion pounds of e-waste from landfills by 2014, and the company reports that it already has diverted about 6.7 million pounds during its history.

Dell credits Dell Reconnect, the company’s joint e-waste recycling program with Goodwill Industries, for its diversion figures. The program allows the public to bring e-waste to more than 2,200 Goodwill sites in the United States and Canada so that the material can be recycled.

“Dell’s responsible electronics recycling record in the industry is second to none,” said Mike Watson, director of Dell’s Take Back program, in a statement. “As we strive to reach our 1 billion pound target by 2014, we’re focused on educating people and creating awareness on the benefits of computer recycling and how Dell makes it easy to do so.”

To learn more about Dell’s sustainability efforts, visit the company’s website.

Dell’s unveiling of its e-waste recycling totals comes nearly two weeks after Waste Management launched an e-waste recycling service in New York state that electronics manufacturers can use to comply with the requirements of the state’s new e-waste recycling law, which took effect on April 1.

The service, which is run by Waste Management’s recycling subsidiary WM Recycle America, is called WM NYeCycles Service. The program “offers various collection methods, which include an established network of collection sites, mail back programs and community electronics recycling events to help meet manufacturers’ collection goals and requirements,” according to a Waste Management press release.

Under the terms of New York's new law, electronic manufacturers selling in the state must offer free e-waste collection programs for residents. Based on their market share in the state, the manufacturers must then recycle or re-use a certain percentage of the collected materials. Items that manufacturers are required to accept include computers, monitors, televisions, keyboards, printers, VCRs, DVD players and MP3 players.

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