Dell Teams Up With Goodwill For Recycling Program

Dell

and three Goodwill Industries groups across Central and Western North Carolina are rolling out a free recycling program for used and unwanted computers.

The “Reconnect” program is a growing effort launched by Goodwill and Dell in several states to recycle PCs and to keep them from being dumped in landfills.

Dell, which operates its largest manufacturing facility at a one-year-old plant in Winston-Salem, is partnering with Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, Central North Carolina and the Southern Piedmont. The sites will serve 49 of the state’s 100 counties.

The closest location for PC drop-off to the Triangle is in Mebane.

Reconnect has set a goal of safely disposing of more than 5 million pounds of PCs and related equipment over the next year. The program also is expected to produce jobs for workers at Goodwill.

Goodwill sites will accept the machines. The computers will be recycled by a Dell recovery partner for such materials as metals. Proceeds from the recycled materials will go to Goodwill.

Donors are responsible for removing data from hard drives.

The Southern Piedmont Goodwill group already operates a “ComputerWorks” store where used equipment is sold.

“The growing number of computers reaching the end of their useful life presents a challenge for all communities,” said Michael Elder, the chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “Opening our ComputerWorks Store in early 2006 has allowed us to sell functioning computers and related equipment at reasonable prices while keeping those items out of our landfills. The Dell-Goodwill partnership is a unique initiative that will greatly enhance our efforts to keep non-working computers out of the waste stream.”

Dell has also launched programs in Texas, California, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

For information about where PCs can be donated, call 1-888-4-GOODWILL or 1-866-48 REUSE (73873), or visit:

www.reconnectpartnership.com