Dell said consumers will be able to recycle computer systems, monitors and printers when purchasing new equipment from the company, although it is offering to take back old Dell equipment even from those people not buying anything new. Both services will provide free collections from the home.
The initiatives are in response to the EU directive on WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), which requires recycling of electronic equipment at its end-of-life. Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark are drafting unilateral legislation that will not allow equipment to be incinerated or put in landfills without first being processed by an approved recycler.
According to a Dell survey, 70% of businesses and consumers had no idea what the WEEE Directive was, although most all of them were interested in finding out where to take end-of-life computers. For businesses, Dell already offers various asset-recovery services for the recycling or resale of redundant computer equipment.
It can cost between $85 and $135 to dispose of a PC, according to estimates released last year by Gartner.
Dell said the recycling services will be complemented by a new computer donations initiative, enabling customers to donate used computer equipment to charity.
