How many of you shop at Best Buy? When I’ve gone, I’ve been disappointed by their usually high prices and unhelpful staff. That said, I will start going there less than I even do currently.
Best Buy should be ashamed of their recycling program and efforts they speak so proudly of. Best Buy is probably one of the largest retailers of electronics if not the largest. In essence, Best Buy is one of the worst contributors to the tons of electronics thrown into our landfills each year.
Best Buy can mitigate a lot of this buy offering recycling at its stores, but unfortunately, it doesn’t choose to do so. It only offers the recycling of some appliances and home electronics if you purchase something from them AND get it professionally delivered or installed through a service you purchase through them. In essence, they are really trying to up sell additional services and make even more money, while masking this as some type of great recycling program and environmental benefit they are offering.
To Best Buy’s credit, they do offer cell phone, battery, and ink cartridge recycling. However, given Best Buy’s huge contribution to electronic waste in our landfills, they should be ashamed of their paltry efforts. They don’t even offer an on-going free recycling program for old computers, printers, CD / DVD players, fax machines or other common electronics. They do have special weekend events which appear to be one-time events in certain cities. Let’s be realistic though. Recycling should be a year round event, not a one-time marketing and promotional event. In addition, Best Buy doesn’t even accept appliances, microwaves, smoke detectors, or air conditioners during these events. Why even bother having these events, lest its for a corporate dog and pony show? Best Buy definitely pales in comparison to Costco’s efforts, which offers free recycling, complete with free shipping and packaging materials.
If someone knows of a great effort Best Buy is doing to combat this problem, let me know. I couldn’t find it on their website, and I would definitely love to be proven wrong in this case.
nice logo. best buy totally blows. sucks that their recycling programs are weak.