Check out the full list of what staples accepts now part of their expanded recycling programs.
https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling#workingtowardsabrightertomorrow
More companies should start to follow staples lead and offer return points for packaging and products that reach their end of life.
We’ll gladly accept and responsibly recycle the following:
Adapters & hubs
Apple® AirTag® trackers
Battery backup devices
Cable/satellite receivers
Calculators
Car & wall chargers
CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs & players
Coffee brewers (less than 40 lb.)
Computers & Mac®
Computers
Computer speakers
Connected home devices
Digital & video cameras
Digital projectors
Earbuds & AirPods®
Fax machines
Flash drives
Gaming consoles & controllers
GPS devices
Hard drives
Headphones & headsets
Keyboards & mice
Label makers
Laminators
Laptops & MacBook®
Mobile phones & iPhone®
Monitors (CRT, LED/LCD, plasma)
MP3 players & iPod®
Printers & multifunction devices
Routers & modems
Scanners
Shredders
Small servers
Smart speakers & HomePod®
Smart watches & Apple Watch®
Stereo receivers
Streaming devices & Apple TV®
Stylus pens & Apple Pencil®
Tablets, iPad® & eReaders
USB & Lightning® cables
Webcams
For a split second there while scrolling down the list, the term “Flesh Light” blinked in my mind.
I literally just set a box of half this stuff in front of Goodwill and ran away. Next time, though…
Why would you just set it in front of Goodwill? That’s littering!
You should go donate it directly in closed boxes so they can’t just ignore it on the sidewalk. Plus, they’ll probably even give you a coupon for your next visit.
Thanks for posting the list!
Full details here: https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling
Staples Easy Rewards program terms and conditions apply. For full program details visit staples.com/easy. Expires 3/30/24
The program is already expired.
Great, we should see many more companies accepting back everything they sell as recycling. It should be the norm.
Interesting idea
Legitimately, i was floored when I learned how much bestbuy charges for recycling electronics (smart tv, specifically). Like motherfucker the precious metals in the components alone should be enough for you why are you charging me a benjamin on top of that??
I figured out how to recycle it through my city, instead. Massive pain in the ass to do, but at least they didn’t CHARGE ME
TVs seem especially hard to recycle.
Not really.
You just smash’m up to get the PCBs out of them, ship’m across the world to a 3rd world country, where you pay children to douse them in chemicals and light them on fire, then dig through the toxic much to fish out the metal nuggets to send out for processing.
E-Z-P-Z.
There’s a local recycling company near me, and anything like that (including monitors) has a $25 surcharge to take it, but they take everything else free of charge. It was great when I did hardware support, because we could just huck most customers’ old gear at them and it got properly handled.
FYI this appears to be the US Staples only. In Canada (or at least Ontario), Goodwill accepts electronics recycling, now that Staples has shut that down.
In BC the bottle depot usually takes electronics
I worked for Staples in my college years. They used to throw away bales upon bales of recyclable products every day while pumping up their image as a green place to shop or whatever. Maybe it was just the management of that specific store. Anyway, good on Staples for offering recycling services.
Unfortunately this could be the case and the cynic in me feels this could be a green washing scheme like you said.
But hopefully with what some cities are doing now with charging the full economic and social cost of blue & black bin programs to companies and manufactures this could start having a real good impact.
Specially since most manufactures shift the cost of recycling and trash to communities and tax payers. Instead this cost should be internalised by the manufacturer and retailer.
Hopefully this kind of shift promotes better sustainable packaging, and prevents things like planed obsolescence and fast fashion.
The cost of paper and plastic recycling is passed on with the co-operation of government. Their interests are aligned with those of industry. The cost is handballed (‘externalized’ if you want the slime term) first to individuals and ultimately to the environment. With moral hazards like this I wouldn’t expect substantial change to be driven by authorities. It’s going to take technological breakthroughs.
I boycotted Staples ages ago when they pulled some used car dealer ass bullshit on me.
My laptop was busted, but I had an extended warranty with the company. I come in one day and they say they’re sorry, because they can’t find any record of my warranty in their system. So I say to them.
“That’s okay, I’ll buy a new laptop then.”
The lady behind the desk’s eyes light up and I can hear the change in her tone… She’s more than happy to show me to the back…
I start to leave the store, she asks me where I’m going. I tell her “Best Buy’s right across the street isn’t it?”
She immediately panics, runs back to her computer, and is suddenly happy to honor my warranty with her most sincere apologies for not noticing it earlier.
I was floored, I was angry and bluffing, I was just going to go home and play Xbox to get my mind off things. The bitch actually tried to con me with a fast one, I was speechless when she “suddenly found the warranty” and basically swore to myself that I would NEVER shop there again.
And so far, the only reason I have ever gone back is because it’s the only store that sells CD-Rs anymore
Wow that’s a useful list of things they accept for recycling. It’s a total PITA to recycle anything electronics related in my city especially stuff like computers & hard drives let alone cables. That may end up getting me inside a Staples more often than once every year or two so maybe their plan is going to work.
10 off on purchase of 30+ if you recycle.
smart way to drive traffic.
Computers & Mac®??
Mac is a registered trademark?
Also its not a computer?
lots of people view the computer landscape as PCs and Macs. nevermind that Macs are pretty much always personal computers (as in computer hardware designed for use by a single individual at a time; non-server hardware)
Kudos to Staples, their stores might see me more often.
I slept on Staples for awhile until I had to go to them a few times. It’s pretty cool, you can send mail through them and I can print stuff with them since I infrequently need to do so and it’s much cheaper/less hassle then buying a printer. Not to mention saves me physical space in my house lol. They also help some local stores around me which I think is cool.
of course i learn of this today, a day after i just spent $10 each to ‘recycle’ a bunch of dead monitors.
i’m surprised these guys still exist even.
Hopefully they’re actually doing proper e waste “recycling”
You and me both, hopefully its not just being shipped to india.
so far the best e waste recyling i’ve seen so far is warehousing it and reselling it to nerds who want it for cheap.
And anybody else who would ever want it also i suppose.
A lot of better US recycling programs are popping up because India and China are accepting less or just not accepting waste from other countries.
too bad we can’t prevent these massive companies from producing shit loads of e waste or anything.
If only that would help.
Does anyone know some of the finer grained details of this recycling program? I’m not exactly a regular Staples customer, but I definitely have some shit that is better off recycled. Like no chance of fixing a few phones I’ve found smashed in the road…
For at least the last five years, the Staples in the Boulder 29th St Mall takes any electronics you have for recycling. The process is you hand it to them or drop it in a box they have sitting there.
Unsure if this applies to other Staples, but at least that one in Boulder, 29th St Mall, does this easy
Removed
Not going to lie. You had me in the first half.
