Top Five Tips For Recycling Electronics At Home And At Work (NAPSA)—Most consumers and businesses are accustomed to recycling paper, plastic, glass bottles, and aluminum cans but many do not realize that a wide range of everyday electronic products can also be recycled, including computers, printers and even print cartridges. The country’s growing depen- dence on electronics, both at home and in the workplace, has given rise to a new environmental chal- lenge: disposing of used, unwanted electronic products, often called “e-waste.” In March 2005, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associ- ates conducted a telephone survey of more than 1,200 U.S. con- sumers to examine attitudes and issues related to e-waste. The survey, commissioned by HP, confirms that although there is a widespread lack of understanding of e-waste among 95 percent of consumers, the majority of Americans view e-waste as an important environmental issue. The survey findings show: * 63 percent of consumers in the United States believe the environmental issue of e-waste is either more important than or just as importantasair pollution. 58 percent of American consumers are not aware of an ewaste recycling program where theylive. With new electronic products being developed at a rapid rate, obsolete technology is being stockpiled in basements, garages and office storage facilities. Instead of throwing these products away, companies like HP have established environmental, recycling programs for consumers and businesses. HP’s program, entitled HP Planet Partners, is a return and recycling program (www.hp.com/ recycle) that allows customers to easily recycle used or unwanted technology products responsibly, donate working computer hardware to schools and charities around the world or trade in used products and upgrade to new HP products. This is a simple take- back program that aims to cut down on waste by offering consumers and businesses the ability to responsibly dispose of any brand of computing hardware. Since the program began in 1987, HP has recycled 616 million pounds of computer hardware and print cartridges globally. In addition to recycling electronic waste at home, consider starting an electronics recycling program at your office. Here are five tips for getting started: 1.Obtain Top-level Management Support: The success of a recycling program hinges upon the endorsement of senior management. Also, recycling programs often require initial outlays of capital for necessary items such as collection bins. Management approval of a recycling budget ensures that resources are available when needed. 2. Appoint a Recycling Coordinator: A coordinator should be appointed to manage the entire recycling program. The person selected should be genuinely interested in recycling and able to interface with personnel at all organizational levels. It is advisable to incorporate recycling responsibilities into the employee’s overall job description. 3.Assemble a Recycling Task Force: A task force should be formed to help the coordinatorinitiate the program. It may become a permanent advisory body to ensure continued program development. Recyclable materials: Identify what items can be recycled at the office and where they can be recycled. For example, HP’s Planet Partners program accepts any HP or non-HP branded com- puter, printer, scanner, fax machine, desktop server, monitor or handheld device. HP also accepts the associated external components such as cables, mice and keyboards. (HP only accepts computer equipment, and does not accept monitors with broken glass.) Containers: Consider where containers are to be placed, the quantity needed, size, shape, color and labels that inform employees and customers what to put in and what to leave out. Storage: The central storage area should be clean, dry and free of fire hazards. If located outside, consider using covered storage bins to preserve material quality andpreventlitter. * Collection and return: Collecting recyclables and taking them to the central storage area is usually the responsibility of custodial staff. A printed operations schedule is helpful to collection personnel. A memberof the company’s recycling task force can be assigned the task of ordering the recycling service through HP as needed. 5. Implement an Education and Promotion Program: It’s impor- representatives from the departments that will be most affected by the recycling program, such as building maintenance. Enlist the support of the HR department to get this program started. 4. Develop a Collection Method: Whetherthe organization is housed tant to tell employees about office recycling policies, procedures and goals. For example, communicate how easyit is to recycle HP LaserJet and inkjet print cartridges, whether recycling in singles or bulk. Usual channels for conveying this type of information include staff meetings, orientation meetings for new employees, newsletters, fliers and posters. building, it will be necessary to design a method for collecting electronic waste. The main thrust in developing an internal collection system should be convenience. Key considerations include: cling used or unwantedelectronics, contact your municipal waste agency. Consumers can call (800)CLEANUP (253-2687) to find a recycling center or visit HP Recycling at www.hp.com/recycle. For best results, choose task force in a numberof buildings or in one For more information on recy- Good news: Electronic products can be recycled. Every cartridge counts Recycling original HPprint cartridges is easy andfree Taking a stance on electronics recyclingis thefirst step toward making a differencein the environment.Since 1987, HP has recycled 10.5 million HP inkjet print cartridges, and more than 81 million HP LaserJet print cartridges worldwide. The success of this recycling effort is largely dependent on HP customersgetting involved and making recycling a priority. Consumers can send their HP inkjet and LaserJet print cartridges back to HP to be recycled through the HP Planet Partners program, where HP’s state-of-the-art recycling facilities process each return through a multi-phaserecycling process. No cartridges returned and recycled through HP Planet Partners are sent to landfill. Here's how you cangetinvolved: You can recycle your HP print cartridge after use with the pre-addressed, postage-paid labelor envelope found in many HP LaserJet and inkjet cartridge boxes. HP LaserJet print cartridges can be returned with up to eight cartridges taped togetherwith one shipping label. Customerscan also visit www.hp.com/ recycle to print or order postagepaid labels, envelopes or boxesfor bulk returns. REMEMBER THAT EVERY COMPUTER, PRINTER AND CARTRIDGE COUNTS, SO PLEASE MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND RECYCLE! @