The waste included ink and toner cartridges, printers, digital cameras, shredders and laptops. The majority of the products, over 13 tonnes, were returned to its California stores.
Office Depot said that According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over three million tonnes of e-waste were disposed of in 2007 in the US. Of this amount, only 410,000 tonnes, or 13.6 percent, was recycled. The rest was trashed in either landfills or incinerators.
Even though the special Tech Trade-In promotion and 400 Ton Challenge is coming to an end, Office Depot customers can continue to recycle their old ink and toner cartridges and receive $3 back in Worklife Rewards.
Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot Yalmaz Siddiqui said: “When people consider ‘green,’ the majority first think about recycling. However, the recycling rate for technology and toner cartridges is still much lower than the rate for paper and plastic bottles. Through Office Depot’s 400 Ton Challenge, we wanted to help accelerate the adoption of technology recycling in the United States. The results show that our customers responded.”