E-RECYCLING ON THE RISE

…2013 Special Gadgetology Report: Who is Recycling Electronics and Buying Green Gadgets?

Andrew Eisner, April 17, 2013 (Retrevo)

“…Almost three years ago Retrevo ran a survey that indicated over 60% of the households across the country weren’t recycling their electronics. The most common reason cited was they just didn’t get around to it…{L]aziness or “not getting around to it,” is still the most common excuse but…it’s a lot smaller percentage of people who say they aren’t recycling electronics. The younger generation, including those under 30 are the worst offenders with 17% or them saying they just don’t get around to it compared to 8% of those over 30.

“Many municipalities provide households with recycling containers for paper products, glass and metal, and even compost. To recycle electronics you have to find a location that will accept them. The third most common excuse for not recycling, after “don’t get around to it,” and “don’t know where to take them,” is the fact that recycling is not available. In many cases this is being addressed by resellers and manufacturers who are stepping up and providing recycling services…”

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“There are some good rating systems available like Energy Star and EPEAT that offer consumers a way to tell which products are more environmentally friendly than others. Unfortunately, in this study we found a large percentage of respondents indicating they don’t pay much attention to energy ratings when purchasing a product…Although a large percentage (67%) of respondents indicated that they trust “green” ratings like Energy Star, only 42% of respondents say they use them when deciding what to buy. That percentage drops to 35% for the younger generation…

“We were encouraged, to see how many more respondents indicated they now recycle their electronics but we also feel there is a lot of room for improvement in both recycling and buying greener products. Perhaps if more consumers where aware about the harm improperly disposed gadgets can bring to humans and the environment, more people would be “greener” with gadgets; buying ones with higher “green” ratings and recycling them when done using them.”

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