These days nobody’s a stranger to technology. It is practically impossible to be so. The technological and electronic industries are moving at such a rapid pace that the brand-new appliances you bought a few days ago might already have been overtaken by newer models. More and more products are being outmoded and rendered obsolete everyday. And this fact is its having a huge impact on our environment.
Landfill solutions have seen a dramatic rise in statistics over recent years, and this is partly to do with the improper disposal of electronic equipment. These same appliances – constructed from heavy metals such as mercury and lead – are also significantly to blame for the increase of toxic E-waste produced by this country. It seems that the ecological benefits of recycling have not inspired a global economy of techno-fiends to use the dedicated channels available to them, but in return has led to an emergence of a more positive type of reaction, that of Trade-In and Tech Recycling organisations. And a great thing it is too!
One of the leading proponents of Tech Recycling is ecoNEW. Now available as an online service (www.econewonline.com) ecoNEW offer a great way to help you live a low-impact, modern lifestyle. You simple take your unwanted electronic good, check the ecoNEW trade-in list for eligibility, select the product (outlining its type and condition), send your product via the prepaid postal label provided, and then wait for your Reward Card to arrive through your postbox as a thank you. It really is that simple. And the potential benefits are equally as crucial:
National Electronics Warranty (NEW) works with American ISO 14001 registered and compliant partners. Such export controls regulate landfill, monitor raw materials, and help ensure that these resources are sold back into the manufacturing chain as part of the cycle. Whilst here in Europe we are continually encouraging the same outcomes as ecoNEW’s objectives (mitigation of landfill, zero-waste targets, increased e-cycling) we are limiting our approach to a legal application: primarily known as the “Green Dot” program.
This is where, under regulation, manufacturers are expected to take back and dispose of the materials they produce. However, this has not taken in North America. Hence the launch of ecoNEW with its home delivery trade-in and recycling program, and its relationship with U.S electronic retailers that, last year, sold over 100 million products covered by this great service.
Unfortunately it is still only available in the U.S, but its success has led to rumours of it launching sister companies overseas. And let us hope it does. We already have fledgling organisations such as envirofone.com going from strength to strength in the popular market. However, as their name suggests, their services only encourage the trade-in for one product of a wide, varied and dominating sector. These same technological and electronic industries are equally as prevalent in the U.K and just waiting for a vehicle like ecoNEW to help set about a culture of change that will ensure landfill begins an inspiring reduction in next year’s statistics, as well as our recycling habits.
