Dulles Firm Gives Gizmos N.E.W. Life
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Don't throw out that old computer.
Sam's Club has partnered with N.E.W. Customer Service, a Dulles firm that sells extended warranty service plans for electronics, to start an online recycling program for unwanted gizmos. Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart, is the first company to sign up.
"We find that people are either tossing them away or have a couple old computers in their basement," said Dan Hulkower, N.E.W.'s vice president of client development. "People are choosing not to deal with the issue."
The solution: Make it free and simple, and offer gift cards.
The recycling transaction takes place on the bulk warehouse's Web site. Club members enter the electronics item's information. Accepted electronics include LCD monitors, game system, printers, computers, digital cameras, MP3 players and camcorders.
The Web site generates a printable prepaid UPS label.
Then it calculates the amount of the gift card the customer should receive in the mail. For instance, a 4-gigabyte iPod mini is worth $16. But the trade-in value for a Dell Pentium laptop -- an older piece of equipment -- is nothing.
In 2005, 1.5 million to 1.9 million tons of consumer electronics -- often containing hazardous materials like lead and mercury -- ended up in U.S. landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Today, electronic products are becoming obsolete more quickly.
N.E.W. Customer Service pledges that recycled goods it gets won't be dumped or exported.
"It's not going to end up in China, Africa or some landfill," Hulkower said. "It's not going to become someone else's problem. We're going to deal with it ourselves."
When the discards arrive in N.E.W.'s warehouses in Florida, Georgia or Texas, newer items will be refurbished and resold. Others will be stripped for valuable parts for use within N.E.W.'s repair services. Outdated items will be melted down to produce new electronics.
Between shipping, gift cards, warehouse storage and resales, all parties involved will break even, Hulkower said. The goal is to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and green business practices.
-- Kendra Marr
