Microsoft is the latest electronics giant to join Dell and Goodwill Industries in the Reconnect program, which aims to reduce the amount of hazardous e-waste headed to landfills and create green jobs.
Older models of some electronic devices, including monitors, hard drives, and business projectors, contain trace amounts of heavy metals and other hazardous materials. Newer types are both safer and more energy-efficient, experts say.
Microsoft corporate vice president Brian Tobey said that "recycling of our consumer hardware products is a major part of Microsoft's commitment to minimizing our environmental impact and that of our customers. The Reconnect program helps consumers easily and properly recycle these products at the end of their use, and our effort to strengthen and expand this program is a natural extension of our commitment to environmental sustainability."
Dell said that the Reconnect program's efforts have kept 96 million pounds of e-waste out of landfills and created roughly 250 jobs in green industries since its inception in 2004. Mike Watson, senior manager of Dell Global Recycling Services, asserted that more industry participation in the program will help its success enormously.
