Time to establish an e-reader recycling program

Now that we are fully in the world of e-books and e-readers, one of the major points in favor of the technology is the advantage that e-readers have over print books for a greener, more environmentally conscious planet. That argument is more than true. According to a 2009 report released by the Cleantech Group, “in 2008, the U.S. book and newspaper industries combined resulted in the harvesting of 125 million trees, not to mention wastewater that was produced or its massive carbon footprint.”

So we should all be pleased that the growing popularity of e-readers will slow this destruction. However, as we wait on the newest Apple super product, the iPAD, to be released in April, the excitement should be partnered with news that an expansive recycling program for e-readers is being established. This should be a national program and/or a privatized program in which when one’s e-reader dies of natural causes–and this will start happening soon, if it has not already started happening–the owner can bring the dead e-reader to a place where it will be recycled responsibly.

Consider this Treehugger article from all way back in October 2008, long before the e-reader market got real momentum.

Recyclability of Paper vs E-Readers
We know that e-paper devices are environmentally on par or better than printed materials and online reading, according to research done last year. But paper can be recycled or reused in a million different low-impact ways. What about e-readers? We don’t know yet what their recyclability is, the percentage that will be properly recycled and the energy that would go into recycling them. Looking at current electronics recycling rates, my guess is it won’t be very pretty.

So, is it going to be pretty now? Since I hear a lot about new e-readers crashing to market and not a peep about the networks established to recycle these new electronic devices, my guess is that not much has changed. This should be a call to arms for socially and environmentally minded companies, such as Whole Foods. When you leave Whole Foods, there are bins where shoppers can deposit burnt out cell phones. In the coming months this bin should be joined by a place where shoppers can drop off dead e-Readers. Perhaps it’s depressing to be contemplating the death of e-Readers already, but when it comes to introducing more electronic devices to our world, we should have a pre-planned clean-up in place.

via Will e-reading Change how we Read?.

via Cleantech Group report: E-readers a win for carbon emissions.