Dell already is, according to Mark Newton, senior manager of environmental sustainability there. The company takes back its own brand from consumers through a mail and drop-off system that includes some Goodwill stores. It has a global network of recyclers that it polices.
The company also is working on better design, largely by reducing materials and parts. Newton said the company has also reduced packaging and its carbon footprint by buying energy from renewable sources. He said some of the efforts save money and some, like the take-back program, are costly. (Dell makes the program profitable by selling services such as data scrubbing to commercial customers.)
But ultimately, Newton said, the equipment has Dell's name on it, and the company is trying to "find every way to get this stuff back."
FOR THE RECORD - An article about recycling in Friday's editions listed incorrect hours for the Eastern Sanitary Landfill Solid Waste Management Facility in White Marsh. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.
Getting help
* Consumers can offset the cost of a converter with a coupon from the federal government. To order a coupon, visit dtv2009.gov or call 888-388-2009.
* The federal government also offers free digital converter installation through Maryland contractors. To schedule an appointment in Baltimore, call AmeriCorps volunteers at 888-225-5322. Others include The Idea Guy, 888-898-8729, and Apollo Industries, 800-504-5677. People will need to purchase their converter boxes in advance.
* Because several local broadcast stations will show up on different frequencies, even viewers whose sets or converter boxes are equipped with automatic tuners must rescan channels.
How to recycle your e-waste
For lists of permanent collection stations and companies that take back electronics, go to the Maryland Department of the Environment's Web site, www.mde.state.md.us
More drop-off site information:
* Anne Arundel County : Glen Burnie Convenience Center, Millersville Convenience Center; Millersville Landfill & Resource Recovery Facility; Sudley Convenience Center. Open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and some Sundays. Call 410-222-7951 or go to aacounty.org/dpw
* Baltimore City: Quarantine Road Sanitary Landfill, Northwest Transfer Station on Reisterstown Road; Western Sanitation Yard on Reedbird Avenue; Eastern Sanitation Yard on Bowleys Lane; Northwest Sanitation Yard on Sisson Street. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; call 410-396-8450 or go to ci.baltimore.md.us/government/
dpw/recycle
* Baltimore County: Eastern Sanitary Landfill Solid Waste Management Facility in White Marsh; Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility in Cockeysville; Western Acceptance Facility in Halethorpe. Open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday; call 410-887-2000 or go to baltimorecountymd.gov/agencies
/publicworks/recycling
* Howard County: Alpha Ridge Landfill; open 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; call 410-313-7678 or go to co.ho.md.us/dpw/ecycling.htm
