I’ve heard rumblings about the paucity of places where you can recycled electronics and computer components, but thus far, I haven’t had to deal with any myself, so honestly, I’ve been a bit ignorant about the totally retarded state of they system. The other day I finally bought a new battery for my iBook (my 35-minute battery life made my laptop virtually useless when I travelled unless I had something to plug it into) and tonight I went online to Apple’s support site to find out where to send my old battery.
Yes, I was stupid enough to believe they had a take-back program of some sort SINCE THEY MADE THE BATTERY IN THE FIRST PLACE. But no. Their advice was: “As with all batteries, proper disposal is essential. Check with your local waste or recycling company to determine the disposal method for your area. Putting any battery directly in the trash harms the environment.” No kidding! I know the batteries are toxic. That’s why I’m trying to send it back to you, so you can recycle it properly. LAME, LAME, LAME!
Seriously! How many of these things end up in the trash if that is all Apple is going to do? I am just extremely disappointed because I know how popular Apple’s products are and their service in other areas has always been excellent. I thought Apple was pretty cool, but I don’t think so anymore. I’m going to call them up and write them an email and just generally give them a hard time about it. Maybe next time I’ll buy a Dell (according to Greenpeace’s electronics ratings system, updated just this month and pictured below, they have the best environmental rep.)
You can find it under the following topic(s): Pollution, Rants, Recycling, Toxins.
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Though Apple isn’t as old fashioned as most companies of its size, a snail-mail, actual LETTER will go farther than a phone call and email. The phone call will be ignored, the email deleted. An actual letter will be read by someone and probably passed up the chain. I say this as someone that was often handed letters from upset customers and told “do whatever it takes to make this person happy”. Cheers, and good luck.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:46 amThanks Ross, I will do that!
July 5th, 2007 at 7:01 amThey have an electronics recycling program IF you buy a new computer from them. When you purchase a computer, they send you two barcodes to send in your old electronics. It’s silly not to offer this service all the time, but they are better than some companies about it.
I agree, write a letter. The squeeky wheel gets the oil.
July 5th, 2007 at 8:24 amCheck out this report from the Basel Action Network and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition for more info on what happens when electronics are recycled: http://www.ban.org/E-waste/technotrashfinalcomp.pdf
http://www.ban.org has tons more info also.
July 5th, 2007 at 10:42 amI am surprised because I remember them saying to me specifically when I bought my Mac that they take things like old iPods, batteries, etc. at the store. You can even get some sort of credit…at least this is what they told me, I haven’t tested them out.
July 6th, 2007 at 10:01 amJust a note to let you know we’ve expanded our article on batteries. Here’s a new post:
http://earth911.org/blog/2007/07/05/how-to-recycle-and-properly-dispose-of-batteries/
July 6th, 2007 at 3:47 pmWouldn’t it be better to recycle it locally than to waste resources sending it somewhere to be recycled? You could take all your batteries at one time.
July 7th, 2007 at 4:41 amHmmm…..that does make sense Kathy. It’s always a good idea to avoid shipping stuff around, right? I will call my town’s municipal waste place and find out what exactly they do with it…I’m not sure if they dispose (whatever that may mean) or if they actually recycle it somehow. Also going to go back to the Apple store in NYC where I bought the battery and ask about it.
July 7th, 2007 at 7:21 am