recyclemac

There are some wonderful resources out there for you to recycle your Mac (or PC) no matter what part of the country you live in. Over time, RecycleMac will do short blogs for you about these resources – and we’d love to get your comments and suggestions too. Remember that if you’re in the Washington, DC area, MacRecycleClinic will take your PowerMac G4, G5 and Intel machines for refurbishing back into the community (or for parts if it can’t be repaired). Project Reboot in Rockville, Maryland is a great place to recycle PCs. But if you want more choices let’s start with:

APPLE

Apple’s recycling page is right off their home page. Apple actually doesn’t care if you have a Mac or a PC (or monitor) – they’ll help you recycle them all: “Send us your old computer — Mac or PC. If it has monetary value, we’ll apply that toward an Apple Gift Card. If it doesn’t have monetary value, we’ll recycle it responsibly for you.” They’ll also take your older iPods and any cell phone: “Send us your old iPod or any mobile phone by mail, free. Or bring your old iPod to an Apple Retail Store for 10 percent off a new one.”

As you work your way through the process, you’ll discover that Apple has contracted with a third-party – PowerON – to handle the the estimate to see if your computer has any value. You contact Apple and tell them what you have, PowerOn will provide the estimate and send you a box with pre-paid mailer. You get an Apple gift card in return equal to the estimate:

• “Turn that computer you’re not using anymore into a brand-new Mac, iPod, iPhone, or iPad. Whether it’s a Mac or a PC, working or non working. It doesn’t matter. We’ll take it and determine if it qualifies for reuse. If it does, that means your computer has monetary value that we’ll apply to an Apple Gift Card. You can use the gift card for purchases at any Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. If your computer doesn’t qualify for reuse, we’ll recycle it responsibly at no cost to you.”

IF you only want to recycle your non-Apple PC tower, laptop or display it will cost $30.00 for a prepaid mailing label through another third-party company called WeRecycle!

• “If all you want is to dispose of your unwanted non-Apple-branded equipment, we can help you do that. Apple contracts with WeRecycle! to process the recycling of your non-Apple-branded computer or display. Just purchase a prepaid shipping label for $30 by calling 877-712-2405. Then pack up your equipment using your own box and send it off. For more information about WeRecycle!, visit www.werecycle.com.”

By the way – Apple will also recycle your old computer batteries – just take them to any Apple store.

Finally – if you are outside the DC area, Apple also offers a great list of other free U.S. recycling programs by state.

BONUS: APPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Apple has taken a beating over the years for not being environmentally friendly. See this archived Greenpeace site that talks about their campaign to make Apple greener.  Flash forward to today – and you can read all the great things Apple has done to be a better corporation citizen.

Just for fun – I also thought we’d include a poll here for you – Just how environmentally friendly do you think Apple is?