The folks at Apple Computers are offering free computer recycling to schools. Sounds great! But wait! There is more to the story.

Apple has announced that, for a limited time, they will accept any brand of computer for responsible recycling from schools. There are, however, a few problems with their offer. The offer is only for a limited time. The offer only applies to certain schools. If a school misses the deadline date to sign-up, the offer is over. This raises the question why?

Apple computers use a radically different operating system than a PC. PC’s (IBM format) are the most commonly used systems on earth. There is a considerable learning curve required to transition from PC to Apple (Mac). Nearly every business application is running on a PC, not a Mac. Is Apple trying to build a new customer base?

Recycling is only one part of the new economy of responsibility. Perhaps an equally important part of environmental responsibility is the reduction of wasteful products. It has been observed that Apple’s iPod chargers and accessories are not interchangeable with the newer versions of iPod, therefore, every time a consumer upgrades an Apple device, the peripherals are useless. These peripherals end up in landfills as the product they supported becomes obsolete.

If responsible recycling of computers and peripherals is the right thing to do, why not do it all the time? Most of the metals used in computers can be reclaimed and reused for new computers. When sent to solid waste landfills, these metals (mercury for example) can end up in drinking water. Since the value of used computers is very low, most will be sent to landfills, since few local municipal waste systems have the facilities to implement computer recycling services.

Consumers should beware of corporate schemes to increase sales by imitating environmentally responsible practices. Some believe the same companies that manufacture computers and peripherals should be the ones to accept responsibility for recycling their products. What if your new computer were discounted in price because you returned your old computer for recycling? What if all of the computers that could go to landfills were instead recycled? How much landfill space could be saved, not to mention the fewer raw materials required to manufacture new computers?

Although it would seem that Apple has the right idea, their plan could use a bit more thought.