Dive Brief:
- Furthering its environmental efforts, Best Buy on Wednesday announced a nationwide service that allows consumers to mail in old electronics for recycling.
- Consumers can order a prepaid Best Buy Technology Recycling Box from the retailer’s website to fill with electronics including cords, laptops and tablets. Items received will be given a second life or will be recycled, according to a company press release.
- A small recycling box (9x5x3) costs $22.99 and can carry up to six pounds, while a medium box (18x14x4) costs $29.99 and can carry up to 15 pounds. Boxes will not be accepted at Best Buy stores.
Dive Insight:
Best Buy is continuing its recycling program efforts — if consumers are ready to pay $23 or $30 to turn in their old tech.
The new mail-in service is touted as an option for Best Buy customers that live far from one of its stores or can’t drive to one. Instead, a recycling box can be purchased and taken to a local UPS.
Best Buy recommends that customers remove or wipe data from their devices prior to submission.
“We continue to build on our commitment to be there for our customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their products by making recycling simple and convenient,” Tim Dunn, Best Buy’s head of environmental sustainability, said in a statement regarding the new mail-in program. “Sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do and this new service is another step we are taking to protect the planet today and for future generations.”
In a similar move last year, Best Buy introduced a home pick-up recycling service, which removes and recycles up to two large products for $200.
The new mail-in service joins a few recycling options Best Buy is already offering. The company has a haul-away offering for shoppers when they purchase a new television, major appliance or piece of fitness equipment wherein old products can be taken away for a small charge. Customers can also drop off up to three electronics per household, per day at Best Buy stores through its everyday recycling program.
E-waste, which refers to discarded products with a battery or electrical plug, is forecast to double by 2050, according to a collaborative report between The Solving the E-waste Problem Initiative, The Sustainable Cycles Programme, and The International Environmental Technology Centre, which is a branch of the United Nations Environment Programme. It is the fastest growing solid waste stream, with around 50 million metric tons of e-waste generated globally each year.
Best Buy has recycled 2.7 billion pounds of electronics and appliances, making it the nation's largest retail collector of e-waste, according to the company.
