Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (TDPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., announced today that its free recycling program now accepts electronics that are not Toshiba products. TDPD, along with Toshiba America, has set a goal to recycle 12 million pounds of electronics by 2010 through the new program.

Toshiba now has one of the most comprehensive trade-in programs when it comes to e-waste. The program now accepts e-waste that has no market value for recycling without requiring consumers to purchase Toshiba products. A few of these items are:

• Cameras and camcorders
• GPS navigation systems
• Laptops
• MP3 players
• PDAs
• Projectors
• Servers
• Tablet PCs

“The growth of Toshiba’s free recycling program is a reflection of the company’s dedication to promoting responsible disposal of hazardous waste,” said Jeff Barney, general manager and vice president, TDPD. “Recycling items regardless of the manufacturer is a natural step for Toshiba, considering the value we place on environmental responsibility.”

Toshiba offers recyclers the option of trading in used products for cash, with no obligation to purchase
a Toshiba product.  Consumers can visit Toshiba's product value estimator to determine the trade-in value of their unwanted electronics.

Based on today’s London Metal Exchange market, the retail price for used beverage cans is $.45-.50 per pound.  The day’s wholesale price for mills is ranging from $.72-.76 per pound.  The retail price refers to the amount charged to store customers, such as at a scrap metal buy-back center.  The wholesale price describes the amount paid by large sheet mills buying large quantities of used beverage cans. 

Disclaimer

• Wholesale Prices shown are indicative prices only, and are not an offer to buy from Alcoa or its representatives.
• Prices are for used aluminum beverage cans in bales or briquettes in truckload lots delivered to aluminum sheet mills in the USA.
• Quality specifications are subject to the unique requirements of each mill.
• Retail Prices are indicative prices only, and are not an offer to buy from Alcoa or its representatives.
• Prices are for loose or flattened used aluminum beverages cans delivered to local scrap buyers.
• Quality and prices will vary by region and sellers are advised to consult with local scrap buyers for specific market conditions.

Sony Ericcson (SE) recently launched a worldwide warranty, promising to recycle any of its products brought to designated collection points in an environmentally friendly way. 

The global recycling program allows consumers to recycle any SE product, regardless of where it was originally purchased.  Now active in China, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and the U.S., the program will expand from its current 500 collection locations to all countries in which SE operates by 2009.

According to SE, "the company's solely-owned collection points will be primarily made available in those countries where the current industry-standard system of phone recycling  has been judged to be too limited."

In addition to its environmentally responsible recycling program, SE also launched GreenHeart phones.  These new phones are designed with eco-friendly features such as bio-plastic housings, recycling plastic keypads, and HTML based e-manuals, all within environmentally conscious packaging. 

"With the GreenHeart concept however, Sony Ericsson is looking to the future, to ensure the full life cycle of a mobile phone can be made more environmentally friendly, "said SE.

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) intends to be a vital source of education and advocacy on behalf of the recycling community and their common mission.  As a first step, NRC has created an information resource for its members and the general public to stay informed on the latest information regarding the value of recycling in a carbon-constrained world, and to assist those in need of advocacy materials for general education and policy development at the federal, state, and local level.

NRC reports that under the current US recycling rate of 32% for municipal solid waste, we avoid the emissions of nearly 200 million tons of greenhouse gases, or about 3% of our nationa's total carbon footprint.  The expansion of our abilities to recover even more materials should be a core component of any policy choices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  That will mean incentives to enhance education, infrastructure, and re-use.

For more information on NRC or their climate change initiative visit their website.

After previously announcing that the incentive-based program would cease to exist in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia Streets Department officials have announced that it intends to work with RecycleBank to expand the rewards program citywide, in association with the city's newly expanded single-stream service. 

RecycleBank is a curbside recycling model that rewards residential participants for recycling based on the amount of recyclabes that each household generates.  The rewards come in the form of redeemable coupons to local merchants.

The program was initially to be scrapped after the city had experienced technical difficulties with the system, most notably its inability to adapt to market requirements.  However, after visiting Wilmington, Delaware and Cherry Hill, New Jersey- two other RecycleBank communities currently experiencing an increased level of efficiency due to newly upgraded equipment- streets department officials decided to give the incentive-based program a second chance. 

The city intends to apply the improved technology to some of its collection trucks, initially testing its efficiency in the South Philadelphia and West Philadelphia districts.  If the technology proves successful, and the rewards program is added to the city's single-stream platform, then the city would be responsible for performing the collection duties, while RecycleBank would be responsible for operating the rewards program, including negotiating with companies providing rewards, as well as monitoring participation. 

EDF will aid in development of reduction, reuse and recycling initiatives to help the retailer reach its goal of reducing plastic bag waste by one-third of 2008 levels per store by 2013.  This could result in eliminating nine billion plastic bags from the waste stream per year.

Due to the world’s consumption of 4 trillion bags annually, marine life, money spent for collection by municipalities, energy consumption, and a host of other sectors have suffered.

“Cutting bag waste is a common-sense solution to an environmental problem that we all see every day,” said Gwen Ruta, vice president for Corporate Partnerships at Environmental Defense Fund. “EDF and Wal-Mart anticipate that the bag waste reduction initiative will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 290,000 metric tons and reduce energy consumption equivalent to 678,000 barrels of oil per year.”

Based on today’s London Metal Exchange market, the retail price for used beverage cans is $.45-.50 per pound.  The day’s wholesale price for mills is ranging from $.75-.79 per pound.  The retail price refers to the amount charged to store customers, such as at a scrap metal buy-back center.  The wholesale price describes the amount paid by large sheet mills buying large quantities of used beverage cans. 

Disclaimer

• Wholesale Prices shown are indicative prices only, and are not an offer to buy from Alcoa or its representatives.
• Prices are for used aluminum beverage cans in bales or briquettes in truckload lots delivered to aluminum sheet mills in the USA.
• Quality specifications are subject to the unique requirements of each mill.
• Retail Prices are indicative prices only, and are not an offer to buy from Alcoa or its representatives.
• Prices are for loose or flattened used aluminum beverages cans delivered to local scrap buyers.
• Quality and prices will vary by region and sellers are advised to consult with local scrap buyers for specific market conditions.

Based on today’s London Metal Exchange market, the retail price for used beverage cans is $.50-.55 per pound.  The day’s wholesale price for mills is ranging from $.76-.80 per pound.  The retail price refers to the amount charged to store customers, such as at a scrap metal buy-back center.  The wholesale price describes the amount paid by large sheet mills buying large quantities of used beverage cans. 

Disclaimer

• Wholesale Prices shown are indicative prices only, and are not an offer to buy from Alcoa or its representatives.
• Prices are for used aluminum beverage cans in bales or briquettes in truckload lots delivered to aluminum sheet mills in the USA.
• Quality specifications are subject to the unique requirements of each mill.
• Retail Prices are indicative prices only, and are not an offer to buy from Alcoa or its representatives.
• Prices are for loose or flattened used aluminum beverages cans delivered to local scrap buyers.
• Quality and prices will vary by region and sellers are advised to consult with local scrap buyers for specific market conditions.

Sunday, September 21, the National Recycling Coalition's (NRC) 27th Annual Conference & Expo will kick-off in Pittsburgh, PA at the David Lawrence Convention Center.  Running from September 21-24, this event serves as one of the key recycling forums in the country for industry leaders, educators, government officials, recycling coordinators, and others to learn more about the opportunities and challenges that face the recycling industry in the US.

Exhibitors from all across the board in the recycling industry will have informative booths to educate attendees about the latest trends in the recycling movement.  Lectures, workshops, and networking sessions will enable participants to become more familiar with the many components that make up this exciting industry.  Some key topics that will be covered at this year's event will include climate change policies as they relate to recycling, best management practices for collection systems, and finding better ways to increase public awareness about recycling--just to name a few! 

Learn more details about the conference through NRC's official website.