sam's club launches e-cycling program...

a cool attempt at green-ness from sam's club. they've put together an easy way to get rid of all of that e-waste that junks up homes and garages around the country (including my own). my understanding of the program is that they've partnered with (or created) a company called econew. this company accepts things like old computers, mp3 players, lcd screens, video game systems, camcorders, phones, etc. the nice thing is that you don't have to go anywhere to do it--they give you a printable prepaid mailing label and you just box up your unwanted items and send them away. depending on the technological relevancy of the item, they might even send you a giftcard to sam's club for your donation.

from there, the items are either resold intact or taken apart for usable parts. unusable bits & pieces are safely recycled--they have a "zero tolerance" for sending anything to a landfill. i checked online & my lovely laptop (3 years old) would net me a $56 giftcard to sam's. not that i want to get rid of it. what i do want to get rid of, however, is our old desktop computer out in the garage. it's not worth anything, but this is a great way send it away (and free up some space). the same can be said for my parent's 20 year-old video camera--which is about as big as a suitcase and i swear it cost them thousands of dollars back in the 1980's. my mom has been wondering what on earth to do with it. think they'll get any money? hey, you never know. that thing is a certified antique!

i have to hand it to sam's club. this program, along with a very "green" mini magazine that they put out a month back (a post on this publication has been on my agenda for awhile), they're really showing an eco-friendly interest. putting walmart's sketchy business practices aside, you can't fault sam's club for their efforts. hopefully their "splash" will ripple outward with other companies following suit.

to learn more about this program, and to get rid of some junk of your own, click here.