Dell spearheads the EPA's computer recycling drive

Computer maker Dell and the US Environmental Protection Agency have a computer recycling event tentatively scheduled for this weekend in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.

Recycling service TechTurn and the National Recycling Coalition also are involved in the event, which will take place for five hours at Freedom Plaza on Sunday, April 20.

"This event provides D.C.-area residents an easy opportunity to recycle unwanted computers and help protect the environment," said Molly O'Neill, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information and Chief Information Officer. "We are excited to work with organizations that are showing a strong commitment to corporate citizenship and setting an example for other businesses to follow."

This Washington, DC "e-cycling" event is the latest example of a US tech company working with government agencies to help consumers recycle their equipment.

Hewlett-Packard also has a product recycling program to help consumers and companies recycle electronics in an eco-friendly manner. The company last year announced it wants to recycle one billion pounds of waste by the end of 2010, after successfully recycling the same amount in four years.

IBM has a similar program in which it helps companies recycle old equipment for a low cost.

Many counties in the United States have free electronic waste recycling programs, but pick-up or drop off hours are often limited to two-hour time blocks on certain days once or twice a month. Consumers who wish to drop off aging electronics at a local dump typically are forced to pay high fees, with the result being that they drop off their old products in landfills instead...or places that may as well be landfills.

Among Dell's other initiatives in the ecological space is "Plant a Forest for Me," whose focus is long-term environmental improvement, with help from global banking group ABN AMRO, Ask.com, AMD, health benefits provider WellPoint, and Salesforce.com. Similar to its "Plant a Tree for Me" event, Dell calls on technology companies and consumers to help plant trees in official reforestation locations.