Earth Day turned 40 Thursday as increasingly conspicuous consumption of high-tech devices makes it hard to imagine reducing the technology sector’s carbon footprint. But there is plenty of evidence that both consumers and manufacturers will take strong steps toward greener pastures if given the right opportunity — and motivation.
A December poll by ABI Research found that 98 percent of mobile-phone users were willing to turn in their older-model handsets to a charity, manufacturer or retail store, but only in exchange for a discount or tax deduction.
The same survey found that 38 percent of those polled had recently recycled their phones, but only five percent of those did so while getting nothing in return.
“Many consumers in the U.S. are prepared to help the environment by recycling their old handsets, but only if there is a financial incentive to do so,” said ABI’s Michael Morgan.
The relatively low cost of cell phones and the availability of free or discounted models at the start of new carrier plans makes them perhaps the most common consumer device to be regularly replaced when new models arrive.
“It is far easier to recycle a phone than a PC or TV and many new phones ship with an envelope to recycle your old one,” said consumer-devices analyst Avi Greengart of Current Analysis. “There are already a handful of phones on the market made from recycled materials.”
He added that many phones now signal their users when they are fully charged so they can be unplugged, and packaging has seen a dramatic reduction.
While expensive laptop and desktop computers are less frequently replaced in most homes, manufacturers are increasingly marketing greener products. Apple is marketing its newest MacBook Pros as “the world’s greenest lineup of notebooks,” touting energy efficiency, arsenic-free display glass, a mercury-free…