Dell shows the environment some love, recycles 2 billion pounds of e-waste

By Arif Bacchus Published February 27, 2019

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends / Digital Trends

Whenever you buy a new laptop or desktop and decide to throw away an older model, it often heads to the garbage dump and becomes “e-waste.” Well, it turns out that Dell is one of the leading computer manufacturers that are doing good for the environment, as it has recycled 2 billion pounds of said e-waste ahead of a planned 2020 goal.

The original proposals for Dell’s e-waste management goals were highlighted in a document from 2013. Appropriately named the “Legacy of Good Plan,” it set the high bar of recycling 2 billion pounds of e-waste by 2020, but the goal was instead reached ahead of time in 2018. According to Kefetew Selassie, the head of Dell’s Taiwan Design Center, Dell recycled consumer plastics, carbon fiber waste, and gold from motherboards as part of this achievement. Dell even has plans to use 100 million pounds of the recycled materials before this coming Earth Day.

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Noted by DigiTimes, Dell’s future plans for recycling e-waste include working with a startup company in India to recycle the gas emitted from diesel generators and turn it into ink for printers. That builds on current initiatives which already turn e-waste into materials found across its product lineup and in its desktops, servers, monitors, and laptops.

As great as recycling 2 billion pounds of e-waste sounds, it is just one small drop in the bucket. Forecasts from 2010 had shown that the volume of electronic waste generated worldwide was expected to grow to 49.8 million metric tons by the year 2018. That makes recycling e-waste a high priority moving forward for the future of our planet.

Apple has a similar program for dealing with e-waste and its new MacBook Air and Mac Mini are environmentally friendly, with both made of 100-percent recycled aluminum.

To do your part and avoid having your old computer or electronics end up as damaging e-waste it is best to try and sell the devices back. Many companies or retailers have trade-in programs which allow you to give up your old device and receive a discount toward a newer model. Apple has the GiveBack trade-in program, and retailer BestBuy will allow you to bring your old laptop, tablet, or TV into a store to have it properly recycled for you.

Former Computing Writer

Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…

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