I was reading Fast Company magazine last night and found an article that made me really happy. Mainly because I have the "electronics bag" sitting in a closet, which contains electronics from as early as 2002 that I couldn't bear to throw in the trash. Gazelle.com is buying back consumer electronics and reselling them on sites like Ebay and Amazon. So that means less electronic waste in landfills, and cheaper gadgets for people who need them.
Very old or poor quality products are sold in bulk to emerging markets, and any items that are useless are properly recycled. They chose not to make a profit on the back end, which tells me that this company has a good conscience. That step is easily overlooked, and many companies will forgo recycling when costs are prohibitively high. It says a lot that Gazelle will follow through and do the right thing.
Now we just have to figure out why there is such a glut of consumer electronics to begin with. Why do we need new gadgets every year or so? I have a blackberry that's falling apart because I've had it for about three years. I plan on using it until the Iphone gets Verizon, but that's still a long time to hang on to a phone!
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