A sign of things to come?
It was reported yesterday that mega-retailer Best Buy is piloting a free recycling service for obsolescent TVs, old computers and other unwanted gadgets – even if bought from other retailers – at 117 of its 922 stores.
As the largest US retailer of consumer electronics, BestBuy is intelligently anticipating that it must take the lead in recycling the approximately 2 million tons of e-waste generated annually, before Congress steps in and mandates something like the EU’s blunderbuss WEEE directive.
How refreshing to see a big retailer extending a hand to indies instead of using its political clout to grind their faces in the dirt! With a little luck, BestBuy’s partnership with Carphone Warehouse in the UK may lead to an outbreak of longer-term thinking over here, as well.