Business Bytes
Renee Oricchio

Being Green Just Got Easier

 

Computers, printers, laptops, monitors don't come cheap when brand new. But when it's time to upgrade to the next model, you can't give 'em away.

You still can't. But for a small fee, it just got a lot easier to get rid of them and without being a bad eco-citizen to boot. It's as easy as dropping off said piece of gear at your nearest Staples.

For $10 a device, Staples will take most types of office technologies off your hands and recycle them according to EPA standards. The service does not include smaller items like keyboards or mice, or those big stand alone printers the size of a Smartcar.

It's also okay if you didn't buy the gear at Staples, in the first place. No questions asked. Some 133,000 computers are chucked each year in this country. Getting rid of one the right way is often very hard to do in many communities. Staples is the first national retailer to offer on site drop offs for computer equipment recycling. For some reason, I feel a need to hit that big red Easy button right about now.

A Clear Case of Over Technology

It's the USB mini-fridge. No batteries. No AC plug. It's a USB powered refrigerator just big enough to house a Coke can (it's even red. Sorry Pepsi.) I suppose you gotta do something with all those extra holes in your USB hub.

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio