It Pays to Recycle Your Computer with Apple

November 30, 2012 — by Per Christensson

If you have an old Mac or PC lying around the house, Apple now offers a convenient, environmentally friendly way to dispose of it. I recently received the following email from Apple, which provides instructions for recycling your old computer.

It's a pretty great deal, since Apple will send you a gift card if your computer still has any monetary value. If your Mac of PC is too old to be worth anything, Apple picks up the FedEx shipping fee, so at least the recycling process won't cost you anything. It's easier than dropping off your computer at the local electronics recycling center, which may charge you just to take the old clunker, depending on where your live.

I am especially impressed that Apple is recycling both Macs and PCs. I thought Apple would eventually offer a drop-off system for recycling Macs at their retail stores, but I guess the company determined that would be too much of a hassle. Additionally, old computers would take up valuable inventory space, which is already maxed out at many Apple Stores. Therefore, Apple decided to allow users ship their old Macs AND PCs to their recycling center and let FedEx take care of the logistics. I think it's a great solution.

As a self-proclaimed environmentalist, I am thrilled that Apple is finally providing a simple way to recycle old computers. Even though Apple is accepting all brands of PCs, I hope other computer manufacturers follow Apple's lead and offer a similar service for their customers. If you have an old computer that is just sitting around and taking up space, visit the Apple Recycling Program webpage to learn how to recycle it and see if you might even get a gift card for your efforts.