Office Depot announced the launch of its new "Tech Recycling Service" available at all of the Company's 1,100-plus retail store locations in North America. The Office Depot program, which was piloted in 2006 in approximately 100 stores in the U.S., has already resulted in the recycling of more than 108,000 pounds of technology.
"Office Depot is committed to bringing value and innovation to our customers," said Chuck Rubin, President of North American Retail. "We are confident that the Tech Recycling Service in conjunction with our existing environmental initiatives will help us accomplish our goal."
Through Office Depot's Tech Recycling Service, customers will now have the ability to recycle all of their technology items at one time by following three simple steps:
"EPA applauds Office Depot for providing consumers with a convenient solution for recycling electronics," said Matt Hale, the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste Director. "Recycling technology helps keep electronics out of the waste stream, and conserves valuable materials like copper and aluminum."
The Tech Recycling Service enhances Office Depot's current range of recycling solutions, through which customers can recycle cell phones, rechargeable batteries and ink and toner cartridges. Additionally, Office Depot is one of EPA's Plug-In To eCycling partners. Through this partnership, electronics manufacturers and retailers offer consumers more opportunities to reuse and recycle their used electronics.
"Office Depot's environmental vision is to increasingly buy green, be green and sell green," said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Environmental Strategy Advisor for Office Depot. "Through our Tech Recycling Service, we hope to offer our customers another solution for reducing their environmental impact."
Recycling technology is not new to Office Depot. In 2004 for a three-month period, the company partnered with Hewlett Packard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to launch one of the largest-ever free recycling drives, which resulted in over 10.5 million pounds of recycled electronics. Office Depot also continues to maintain a free cell phone and rechargeable battery recycling program, which has diverted approximately four tons of small electronics from landfills.
These initiatives are in addition to the Company's signature Ink and Toner Cartridge Recycling Program, which offers customers a $3 coupon in exchange for eligible empty cartridges returned (up to 25). The successful recycling program recouped over 15 million empty cartridges in just its first two years (from 2003 through 2005).
